I’m struggling to even figure out how to best explain this Sicilian cauliflower dish to help you truly understand how delicious it is…
What makes it Sicilian?? The roasted cauliflower is paired with a classic Southern Italian combination of savory, spicy, acidic, and sweet elements for a “party in your mouth” end result.
And these are all great ingredients to keep on-hand anyway (plus fresh parsley is cheap), because pine nuts are great for pesto and tossing in salads for crunch, fresh garlic is a must-have for curries and more, and golden raisins are amazing in salads, kheer, and korma. (I buy my golden raisins in bulk on Amazon)
The original recipe calls for white wine vinegar, which works well, but I’ve been using an absolutely delish champagne vinegar from Brightland. I’m obsessed with their oils, vinegars, and honeys, and using them in all sorts of recipes.
And not only that, but it’s wicked easy as well. While the cauliflower roasts, you prep a couple ingredients to toss together with it (soak some golden raisins, quickly fry up some garlic and pine nuts), and then once it comes out of the oven…VOILA!
This has become a staple side dish a few times a week, on rotation with my brussels sprouts rubble and some charred broccoli bits with Trader Joe’s 21 Spice seasoning.
Heat the oven to 425°F and toss your cauliflower with the avocado oil, salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. Roast until it’s cooked but still a little firm inside, 12-17 minutes.
While it’s roasting, heat a little olive oil on medium-low heat, then fry the sliced garlic and pine nuts for a minute or so—be careful, they will burn quickly so keep an eye on them!
Soak some golden raisins in champagne or white wine vinegar so they plump up a bit.
Once your cauliflower is roasted, place in a medium bowl and add the soaked golden raisins (with the remaining vinegar), fried garlic and pine nuts, and add the lemon zest and some chopped fresh parsley. Add the capers (and a bit of brine) if you want it a bit punchier.
Drizzle with some of your nicest olive oil (I either use something I’ve picked up traveling, or one of these amazing Brightland olive oils) and toss everything together.
Taste it and you’ll likely need more salt (I like flaky sea salt here), and adjust other flavors as needed (e.g. if you want more lemon zest, etc).
You can serve this amazing cauliflower dish warm or at room temp, and it makes great leftovers as well (I would still warm it a tiny bit, take the fridge chill off).
Other unique & healthy side dishes you’ll love:
- Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic-Honey Drizzle
- Easy & Flavorful Marinated White Beans
- Easy Roasted Tahini Maple Mustard Carrots
- Aloo Gobi: Indian-Spiced Cauliflower & Potatoes
- Za’atar Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts, Dates, & Thyme
- Roasted Carrots with Smoked Sea Salt & Thyme
- Grilled Eggplant with Goat Cheese, Balsamic, & Pine Nuts
From Kate Ray’s newsletter…I couldn’t find the actual recipe but you can subscribe here
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Roasted Sicilian Cauliflower
This unique & delicious roasted Sicilian cauliflower is healthy, easy, and packed with so many flavors and textures--crunchy, savory, sweet, citrusy, acidic, and bright. It's the perfect easy side dish!
Ingredients
- FOR ROASTING
- 1 small head of cauliflower, in quite small (bite-size) florets
- 2 tablespoons of avocado oil (or olive oil, etc)
- Fresh-ground salt and pepper, a sprinkle of garlic powder
- FOR TOSSING
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- Small handful of pine nuts (about 1/8 cup)
- 1/8 cup or less of golden raisins
- 1-2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar (to taste)
- Zest of 1/2 lemon (or more, to taste)
- Fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- Regular olive oil (for cooking)
- High-quality olive oil, for drizzling
- Optional: Capers
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F and toss your cauliflower with the avocado oil, salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder. Roast until it’s cooked but still a little firm inside, 12-17 minutes.
- While it's roasting, heat a little olive oil on medium-low heat, then fry the sliced garlic and pine nuts for a minute or so---be careful, they will burn quickly so keep an eye on them!
- Soak some golden raisins in champagne or white wine vinegar so they plump up a bit.
- Once your cauliflower is roasted, place in a medium bowl and add the soaked golden raisins (with the remaining vinegar), fried garlic and pine nuts, and add the lemon zest and some chopped fresh parsley. Add the capers (and a bit of brine) if you want it a bit punchier.
- Drizzle with some of your nicest olive oil and toss everything together. Taste it and you'll likely need more salt (I like flaky sea salt here), and adjust other flavors as needed (e.g. if you want more lemon zest, etc). Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes great leftovers as well.
Notes
I’d say it’s slightly better hot out of the oven, but still very good at room temperature, which makes it work for a party like this.
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