Cauliflower Steaks

First things first:

1. this steak is not made of cow.
2. Also, I made this a month ago. The sorrel that I used in this recipe is no longer hanging on against the oncoming winter. Winter has come, and the sorrel is dead. Oh, well.

Relevance of thing one: vegetarian food is, like, so hot right now. A couple of my friends recently did a two week vegan challenge, and one of the editors of Serious Eats is doing the same thing.

Relevance of thing two: sorry about that. (And hi, Dad!)

ANYWAY. Even if you're not a vegan or a vegetarian or what have you, I don't think you'll miss the meat here. Plus it's easy! Sear some cauliflower, and while it finishes in the oven, throw together a quick relish. A can of tomatoes and a few cloves of garlic for a sauce and HEYO! dinner.

Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce
serves 2-3, with some leftovers
adapted from Bon Appetit

1 head cauliflower (you can make it 4 servings if you use a biiiig cauliflower)
1/2 cup pitted black olives
3-4 sun dried tomatoes
3 tablespoons parsley or sorrel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Mince the garlic. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil, sweat the garlic until it smells good. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the rest of dinner is done, then season to taste with salt and pepper. You can puree the sauce with an immersion blender if you want, I did, but I bet it would be good either way.

Trim the leaves off the cauliflower and trim the stem a little bit, if it's icky. Slice it into thick slices, about 3/4" thick. You should be able to get 3 good ones from the center of the head. There will be lots of cauliflower crumbs. Keep them! They go in the relish.

Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and sear two of the "steaks" until golden brown on both sides, a few minutes on each side should do it. You may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet. Once they're browned, transfer the steaks to a rimmed baking sheet and stick them in the oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking.

While they're in the oven, chop up the remaining cauliflower so all the crumbs are the same size, or until you have about 3/4 of a cup. Chop up the olives and sun dried tomatoes, then add the parsley, remaining 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice. Season the relish with pepper and a little bit of salt.

When the cauliflower is tender, stick it on a plate with some of the sauce, then put some relish on top and enjoy.