I first tried cauliflower Veracruz at a restaurant in Arizona, and it was so delicious that I had to recreate it at home. Tender cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, olives, and capers come together in a sauce that is bright, briny, and full of flavor. This is not a dish that needs meat to feel complete.
I like to serve it on corn tortillas with a little refried beans underneath. You can also spoon it over mashed potatoes. Either way, make sure you get some of those olives and peppers in every serving. They are a big part of what makes this dish so wonderful.
What You’ll Learn
- Soften the sharp aroma of onion and garlic before building the tomato sauce.
- Add cauliflower to a hot, sizzling pan after excess tomato moisture has cooked away.
- Use olives, capers, white wine, and charred poblanos to build the dish’s distinctive flavor.
- Check cauliflower tenderness and sauce reduction before adding the final salt.
What Gives Cauliflower Veracruz Its Flavor?
The olives and capers bring the Spanish influence associated with this Mexican coastal style of cooking. They give the tomato sauce its distinctive savory, briny character, while onions, garlic, bay leaves, jalapeños, and roasted poblanos build out the flavor.
White wine goes in after the cauliflower has started to tenderize. My rule is simple: cook with a wine you enjoy drinking. Choose it because you like its flavor, not just because it is inexpensive. Good ingredients make good food.
This recipe is also about paying attention to the pan. The changing fragrance of the onions and garlic, the sound of a steady sizzle, and the sauce thickening around the cauliflower tell you when to move to the next step.
Ingredients for Cauliflower Veracruz
Serves approximately 3 to 4 people with tortillas and refried beans. These are the approximate amounts I use, with a little room to adjust the sauce as it cooks.
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil or olive oil
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 to 4 bay leaves
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 generous tablespoon tomato paste, plus another tablespoon if desired
- 2 to 3 jalapeños, sliced
- About 1½ cups cauliflower florets
- 2 tablespoons capers
- About 3 tablespoons sliced green olives
- About 1 cup white wine
- 1 to 2 poblano peppers
- A few grape tomatoes, optional
- About 1 teaspoon salt, adjusted to taste
- Corn tortillas and vegan refried beans, for serving
You will need a wide skillet with a lid for the cauliflower and a cast iron pan for charring the poblanos. If you need help selecting a vegan-friendly wine, Barnivore’s wine directory is a useful reference.
How to Make Cauliflower Veracruz
1. Start the Poblanos and Warm the Oil
Begin heating the cast iron pan and place the poblano peppers in it to roast while you make the cauliflower mixture. Turn them as they develop charred patches so more of the skin comes into contact with the hot pan.
Meanwhile, add the oil to your main skillet and let it warm. Sunflower oil is what I use here, but olive oil works too. Use whichever you have on hand.
2. Cook the Onion, Garlic, and Bay Leaves
Add the sliced red onion, chopped garlic, and bay leaves to the warm oil. Stir and let them cook down a little.
Raw onion and garlic have an intense, sharp flavor. For this dish, I want that raw edge to soften before adding anything else. Pay attention to the aroma: when the fragrance becomes less sharp and more mellow, add the diced tomato.
Stir the tomato into the onions and garlic, then allow everything to cook down together.
3. Add Tomato Paste and Jalapeños
Once the vegetables have softened a little, stir in a generous tablespoon of tomato paste. Add the sliced jalapeños and mix them through the tomato base.
Let the excess moisture cook away before adding the cauliflower. You want a hot, sizzling pan at this point, not vegetables sitting in a puddle of liquid.
4. Add the Cauliflower, Capers, and Olives
Add the cauliflower florets and turn them through the vegetables so they pick up some of that tomato coating. The mixture should still be sizzling. That sound tells you the pan is holding its heat as the cauliflower goes in.
I hold off on adding salt at this stage. My aim is to keep the cauliflower from releasing too much moisture early and making the mixture watery. The salt comes later, once the cauliflower is tender and the sauce has reduced.
Lower the heat while you stir in the capers and sliced green olives. These are the ingredients that give the sauce so much of its Veracruz character.
Cover the skillet and cook over medium heat until the cauliflower begins to tenderize. Lift the lid to check and stir as needed. The combination of capers, olives, tomatoes, and onions smells amazing as it cooks together.
5. Pour in the White Wine
Once the cauliflower has begun to soften, briefly raise the heat and pour in about a cup of white wine. Stir it through, then cover the skillet again and continue cooking over medium-high heat.
The wine becomes part of the sauce as the vegetables finish cooking. Check the pan periodically rather than relying on a fixed cooking time. You are looking for tender cauliflower and a sauce that is beginning to come together.
6. Adjust the Sauce and Season
I like my cauliflower Veracruz a little redder and saucier, so I add another tablespoon of tomato paste at this point. Stir it in well. This second spoonful is an adjustment, not something you have to add if you already like the sauce.
You can also add a few grape tomatoes. I like the little pops of red they bring to the pan, and honestly, they look cute.
Let the liquid reduce until the sauce thickens around the vegetables. Pierce a cauliflower floret with a knife to check its tenderness. When it feels tender and the sauce has reduced, add the salt and stir everything together. I use about a teaspoon, but adjust it to your taste.
7. Peel and Add the Roasted Poblanos
Keep cooking the poblanos until their skins have blistered and developed dark, charred patches. If they are taking longer than the cauliflower, cover the cast iron pan to help them along, checking and turning them as needed.
Let the peppers cool enough to handle, then peel off the charred skin and cut the flesh into pieces. Add one or both peppers to the cauliflower mixture and stir well. Now it is ready to serve.
Serve with Tortillas and Refried Beans
Heat your favorite vegan refried beans and spread a little onto a corn tortilla. Spoon the cauliflower Veracruz over the beans, making sure each portion includes cauliflower, sauce, olives, and peppers.
For another way to serve it, spoon the mixture over mashed potatoes. The sauce is the star here, so give it something underneath that will catch all that flavor.
What I love about this dish is how much each ingredient contributes. The cauliflower becomes tender, the tomato sauce cooks down, the olives and capers bring their briny flavor, and the roasted poblanos finish it beautifully. It is a simple combination that makes a meal worth coming back to.