Step Aside, Avocado. Ina Garten Makes Gourmet Toast With This Vegetable

Any ardent fan of tomato- and balsamic-laced bruschetta or sourdough avocado toast will tell you that a simple piece of toast can make a mouthwatering appetizer or even star in its own craveworthy meal. But enough about luscious fruits that transcend their ripened sweetness for a show-stopping performance in savory town, let's talk veggie toast. Specifically, Ina Garten's umami-laden, robustly creamy cauliflower toast. Though the dish is pretty simple to prepare, the payoff is something you and your guests will never forget, blending sweet notes of roasted cauliflower with salty, fat-laden cream and a touch of heat. One bite, and you'll be hooked. 

While cauliflower is probably not the veggie that first springs to mind when picturing a flavor-packed, crowd-pleasing toast — it is the one that's been garnering nonstop rave reviews ever since Garten introduced it back in 2018 in her cookbook, "Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks." Her secret is copious amounts of cheese in the form of smooth mascarpone and a bit of nutty, shredded gruyere for a bite that is as rich and filling as it is memorable. But Garten doesn't stop there. To really crank these toasts up a notch, she adds a trinity of unstoppable flavor (nutmeg, prosciutto, and crushed red pepper flakes) to this otherwise bland vegetable, boosting the salt, heat, and overall flavor and dimensionality of the dish.

Just like carrot-harissa toast, whipped ricotta toast, or earthy mushroom pâté with fresh herbs, Garten's meditation on this crunchy-creamy juxtaposition is among the definitive entries with veggie toast in all its velvety decadence. But enough with the hyperbole, how the heck do you make it? According to Garten, it's as easy as roast, mix, toast, broil, plate, and eat. Seriously, there probably isn't an easier or more rewarding dish by the Barefoot Contessa to try your hand at.

The first step is to toast your bread. Garten recommends choosing bread with a firm texture, not your average white bread, to be able to stand up against the weight of this formidable brassica. Next, get your hands on a small head of fresh cauliflower, chop it down into bite-sized florets, toss it in olive oil, and season with red pepper flakes and salt before popping it onto a baking sheet and roasting it in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes. Once cooled, mix it in a bowl with mascarpone cheese, a generous helping of shredded gruyere, and some thinly sliced prosciutto (for that ultimate umami infusion), before seasoning generously with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg and broiling for a few minutes until golden brown. As Ina herself would say, "Now, how easy is that?"