Recipes
Peri Peri Cauliflower Steak
Serves Serves 2
| Prep Time: 20 mins
| Cook Time: 20 mins
| Total Time: 40 mins
You may need: Peri Peri
Discover The Recipe
This recipe for Peri Peri Cauliflower Steaks showcases a gorgeous fusion of flavor from Portuguese and African cuisines in a healthy plant-based recipe! Whether you are a dedicated vegetarian, or just trying out a new dish for Meatless Monday, we think you'll absolutely love this unique and flavorful sauce and our Peri Peri spice blend!
Peri Peri sauce has it’s origins in the globe-trotting history of Portuguese explorers. The Birds Eye chilis were brought to the Iberian peninsula in the wake of Christopher Columbus’ travels to the New World, and were introduced to Africa through Portuguese colonists. Once in Africa, both the indigenous people and the Portuguese settlers started incorporating the chili into their cuisine and Peri Peri sauce was born!
Also known as pili-pili or piri-piri sauce, it’s used in many different dishes in both African and Portuguese cuisine, especially as a marinade for grilled meats. The delightful hints of lemon, paprika, oregano and vinegar create a lovely balance to the heat in this versatile sauce. We think it’s perfect on all kinds of veggies, and that’s why we’re bring you this healthy and quick Peri Peri Cauliflower Steak recipe! Our version goes easy on the heat, but still has a kick, and you can easily dial up heat if you like it hot!
Ingredients
1 large tomato, skin removed
1 red onion, skinned and chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, juiced
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
2 tsp Piquant Post Peri Peri Spice
1 large head of cauliflower
Notes
This sauce is traditionally made with very spicy bird’s eye peppers, but we have toned it down a bit here so you can adjust it to your own spice tolerance. Our signature Piquant Post Peri Peri spice mix has a complex flavor and mild heat that will let you customize this perfectly to your own taste!
This sauce would be great with grilled meat, tofu and even eggs. We thought it would be perfect with mild flavored cauliflower steaks. They can take a lot of flavor and spice!
Instructions
To make the sauce, score the skin of the tomato in an X. Then, heat some water in a sauce pan and add the tomato. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the skin begins to peel around the tomato, Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and run cold water over the tomato until the tomato is easy to handle and the skin can be removed. Peel the tomato completely.
Place the tomato, onion, garlic cloves, bell peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, sea salt, black pepper, oregano and Piquant Post Peri Peri Spice in a food processor. Purée until a sauce is formed. Transfer to a sauce pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut the cauliflower straight down the center and then cut a 1” thick steak from each half of the cauliflower. Brush both sides of each cauliflower steak with extra virgin olive oil and season liberally with sea salt and pepper. Place the cauliflower steak on an oiled sheet pan and bake the cauliflower steak for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender in the center.
Remove the cauliflower steaks from the oven and place each one on a plate. Spoon some sauce on each steak. Serve with a side of the peri peri sauce and some fresh herbs if desired. Pair with a simple salad! In our photos, we made an arugula salad with a simple red wine vinaigrette!
Alternatives & Substitutions
If you’re not a fan of cruciferous vegetables, you can make vegetables steaks our of other creative vegan ingredients. Try using sweet potato steaks by boiling whole sweet potatoes and then peeling and cutting thick steakes out of that. Or you can make “steaks” with roasted butternut squash! Simply roast the squash whole and then cut thick slabs out of the base of the squash.
Tofu is also a wonderful substitute for cauliflower! It can be cut into 1/2 thick slices and then baked on an oiled sheet pan for 30-45 minutes at 400°F to firm it up and then seasoned with salt and pepper. It will pair beautifully with the peri peri sauce!
If you really love to crank up the heat, go for it by substituting one of the bell peppers with 1 cup of hot peppers, like the birds eye peppers mentioned above, or even serranos!
Meat lovers: try our Peri Peri Grilled Chicken, Peri Peri Skirt Steak, Portuguese Pork Tenderloin, Peri Peri Lamb Chops, or Peri Peri Chicken with Ranch recipes.
Or, try our delicious and hearty African Vegetable Pelau (Rice Pilaf) or Spicy Fries with Peri Peri Aioli recipes instead!
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!
Peri Peri Cauliflower Steak
Serves
Serves 2
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
Piquant Post spice you'll need: Peri Peri
Ingredients
1 large tomato, skin removed
1 red onion, skinned and chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, juiced
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
2 tsp Piquant Post Peri Peri Spice
1 large head of cauliflower
Instructions
To make the sauce, score the skin of the tomato in an X. Then, heat some water in a sauce pan and add the tomato. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the skin begins to peel around the tomato, Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and run cold water over the tomato until the tomato is easy to handle and the skin can be removed. Peel the tomato completely.
Place the tomato, onion, garlic cloves, bell peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, sea salt, black pepper, oregano and Piquant Post Peri Peri Spice in a food processor. Purée until a sauce is formed. Transfer to a sauce pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut the cauliflower straight down the center and then cut a 1” thick steak from each half of the cauliflower. Brush both sides of each cauliflower steak with extra virgin olive oil and season liberally with sea salt and pepper. Place the cauliflower steak on an oiled sheet pan and bake the cauliflower steak for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender in the center.
Remove the cauliflower steaks from the oven and place each one on a plate. Spoon some sauce on each steak. Serve with a side of the peri peri sauce and some fresh herbs if desired. Pair with a simple salad! In our photos, we made an arugula salad with a simple red wine vinaigrette!
Notes
This sauce is traditionally made with very spicy bird’s eye peppers, but we have toned it down a bit here so you can adjust it to your own spice tolerance. Our signature Piquant Post Peri Peri spice mix has a complex flavor and mild heat that will let you customize this perfectly to your own taste!
This sauce would be great with grilled meat, tofu and even eggs. We thought it would be perfect with mild flavored cauliflower steaks. They can take a lot of flavor and spice!
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