Ina Garten-Inspired Cauliflower Toasts

Compiled by Igor Kukolj, Editor. Nobody here has cooked this — how these are made.

A good version of this is crisp underneath. A bad one is a damp slice of bread holding a pile of cheese, and the difference is one step at the start.

Toast the bread on both sides before anything goes on it. A raw slice under a wet, cheesy topping absorbs moisture from below for the entire time it is in the oven, and it never recovers — the surface browns while the inside stays sodden. Toasted first, the crumb is dry and firm and the topping sits on it instead of soaking into it.

Then it goes back under the heat a second time with the topping on. Two passes, five minutes total.

Roast the cauliflower until it is genuinely brown

Twenty-five minutes at 220°C, until the edges are dark and the florets have shrunk. Pale roasted cauliflower tastes of almost nothing and carries water into the topping. This is where the flavour of the whole dish is made, and it is worth letting it go further than looks comfortable.

Mash it roughly, do not purée it

You want texture — pieces you can see, held together by the cheese. A processor turns it into a smooth paste that spreads like hummus and eats like baby food. Crush it with a fork against the side of the bowl.

Use bread that can hold it

Thin sandwich bread collapses under this topping no matter how well you toast it. A dense country loaf or sourdough, cut a good centimetre and a half thick, is what makes it eat like a proper thing rather than a soggy canapé.

Storing

The cauliflower mixture keeps three days in the fridge and is arguably better on day two. Assemble and grill to order — assembled toasts do not keep at all.