MeatlessMonday with Vegan Cauliflower Steaks with Beans and Tomatoes

Welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for another summer season edition of our Meatless Monday vegan recipe share. Miratel took the Meatless Monday pledge to support reducing meat consumption 15% by eliminating it one day per week to preserve the health of our planet. We consider our support of this great movement part of our CSR business strategies as it spreads awareness of the impact of our food choices on our environment.

We all try to eat a little lighter when the weather warms up and while salads are at their best in the summer, we still need a little more sometimes to satisfy us and if we can get out of the kitchen, even better. Today’s recipe covers all those bases. On the menu tonight we have delicious cauliflower steaks with beans and tomatoes, which comes by way of Chef Patrick Decker from the Food Network kitchens.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Image courtesy of foodnetwork.com

Cauliflower Steaks:

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, as needed
• Salt and ground black pepper

Beans and Tomatoes:

• 1 14-ounce can white beans, such as Great Northern, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered as needed
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated or pasted
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup marinated pitted green olives, chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons high-quality extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Trim any green leaves from the cauliflower and invert it on a cutting board. Slicing through the core, cut four steaks about 1/2-inch thick from the center of the vegetable. Reserve any florets that fall away for later use.
3. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Working in batches as needed, cook the steaks until well caramelized, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the browned steaks to a baking sheet and continue browning the remaining batches, adding a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with each new batch. Bake the cauliflower steaks in the oven until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.
4. While the cauliflower steaks are baking, in a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients for the beans and tomatoes, seasoning as needed with salt and pepper. Reserve.
5. Serve the cauliflower steaks warm or at room temperature with the beans and tomatoes.

Although the recipe gives instructions for indoor cooking, you can easily take it outside to the grill. Simply, “preheat it to medium-high and lightly brush the olive oil on both sides of the steaks. Grill each steak to mark them, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to low or move the steaks to a cooler side of the grill and finish cooking until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.”

Serve with some fresh crustini – grilled bread brushed with olive oil and a little salt – along with a fresh seasonal green salad.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work and promote CSR business initiatives to make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including PCI compliant inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions  and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.