thick grilled cauliflower steaks over a blended lemon-garlic tigernut sauce with mint and dates, AIP Core friendly

A vegetable side can start to feel like the empty half of the plate once elimination has taken the cheese sauce and the breadcrumbs away. This one refuses to shrink. Cut straight through the core so the 2 center slices hold together as real steaks, not a pile of florets, and let the grill do the rest: char on the outside, tender all through.

Between the char and the sauce, most of the vitamin C on this plate is coming straight from the cauliflower itself, which supports the collagen work of tissue repair. The sauce underneath skips cream entirely, built instead from tigernut flour, a tuber rather than a nut, so it clears Core and still gives the dish something rich to hold the bite together.

Pour the sauce first, lay the charred steaks over it, scatter the mint and dates, and finish with a little more oil and salt. Let it sit on the table a moment before anyone digs in. A vegetable this good deserves that.

Ingredients

Lemon-Garlic Tigernut Sauce

• 2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 cup sifted tigernut flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Cauliflower Steaks

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 2 TBSP olive oil + more for garnish
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 3 dates, pitted and chopped
• flaky salt (for garnish)

Method

Make the sauce first. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, tigernut flour, salt, and garlic powder. Blend until smooth. Add a little water as needed to reach a pourable, drizzle-able consistency. Set aside.

Trim the cauliflower head, keeping the core intact, and slice it through the center into thick steaks about 3/4 inch wide. The two center cuts hold together best as steaks; save the loose florets for roasting alongside.

Brush both sides of each steak with the 2 TBSP olive oil and season lightly.

Heat a grill or grill pan to medium. Grill the steaks for roughly 6 to 8 minutes per side, until charred in spots and tender when pierced. Thicker steaks take longer.

Spread the tigernut sauce on a serving plate and lay the grilled steaks on top. Scatter the chopped mint and dates over them, drizzle with a little more olive oil, and finish with flaky salt. Serve warm.

Oven variation

Heat the oven to around 425 F. Set the brushed cauliflower steaks on a parchment-lined sheet and roast for roughly 25 to 35 minutes, flipping once partway, until golden and tender. Times are estimated, so check for tenderness before serving.

*Adapted from healmedelicious.com*