Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter and Capers

A perfect cauliflower needs almost nothing done to it. High heat. Good oil. Salt. Time. The rest is restraint.

Look for heads that feel heavy for their size, with tight, ivory florets and bright green leaves still clinging to the stem. That aliveness tells you the cauliflower was harvested recently. In the fall and early winter, when nights turn cold, cauliflower sweetens. The plant converts starches to sugars to protect itself from frost. This is when you want to make this dish.

Brown butter is one of the great French techniques, and one of the simplest. You cook butter until the milk solids toast and the whole thing smells like hazelnuts. It takes three minutes. The capers add brine and snap, tiny bursts of the sea against all that sweet, caramelized vegetable. A squeeze of lemon keeps everything bright.

Every meal is a meaningful choice. This one says you found something good and let it be what it is.