Roast Cauliflower with Tonnato Sauce. I recently discovered this amazing Italian condiment and can’t stop making it. We’ve been putting it over vegetables, raw and cooked, baked salmon and throughly enjoying all the beautiful summer vegetables.
Tonnato is an Italian condiment made with tuna, anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice, capers and mayo/egg yolks. It is served with fresh raw seasonal vegetables like a crudités called Pinzimonio.
I impulsively bought 3 cauliflowers this week one in each color and trying to figure out ways to use them. I had read about this recipe in Bon Appètit a while ago and have been wanting to try it for the longest time, this was the perfect opportunity I thought, and it was way better than I had expected.
Pinzimonio is the art of displaying colorful beautiful vegetables and dishes dating back to the Renaissance period. Apparently, it appeared for the first time at the banquets of the wealthy and was primarily introduced to decorate the finest dishes. As time passed, vegetables were not only used for decorating, but were delicious to be had with dipping sauces and as palate cleanser between courses. I’m guessing maybe thats where crudités may have come from.
Ingredients
- Cauliflower
- Albacore tuna in olive oil: low salt canned tuna works the best
- Anchovies
- Capers
- Lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Mayonnaise
- Be mindful of adding additional salt. Tuna, capers, anchovies, mayo have enough salt. Please taste before adding more to suit your taste.
Roast Cauliflower with Tonnato Sauce
Equipment
- sheet pan
- small food processor
Ingredients
- 1 large Cauliflower broken into florets
- chopped parsley for garnish
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the cauliflower
- 8 oz Italian tuna in olive oil, drained
- 4-6 oil-packed anchovies, drained however many you can handle
- 2 tbsp capers
- ¼ cup mayo
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Roast Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Chop the cauliflower into bite sized floret. Place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle very lightly with olive oil and kosher salt. ( there will be plenty in the sauce)
- Place the try in the oven and roast until edges are crispy and golden about 20-25 minutes. Transfer on to a platter. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Tonnato sauce
- While the cauliflower roasts make the sauce: In a food processor, combine the 1/4 cup of olive oil with the drained tuna, lemon juice, black pepper, anchovies, capers and mayonnaise. (I don’t add salt, tuna, mayo, caper, anchovies are enough salty, check before adding g to suit your taste).
- Process until smooth. Scrape the tonnato sauce into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate. Makes about one cup.
- Drizzle or serve alongside the roast cauliflower. enjoy!!!
- Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine.
Looks so good. I love Tonnato sauce, great idea to have it with roast veggies.
Hi Emma, If you give the recipe a try I would to know how your opinion. Thanks
Rhose cauliflowers look so pretty.
Thank you Katerina, they’re pretty indeed and delicious too.