Spain is famous for tapas, and this Spanish Garlic Cauliflower sits right up there with the best of them. Made with minimal ingredients, easy prep work and done in under 30 minutes. Serve as a tapas appetizer or even as a side dish, next to Spanish tomato salad and a Spanish omelette.
This is a very typical tapas dish from the Spanish canary islands, where it´s known as coliflor al ajo y pimenton. It´s packed with so many Spanish flavors and possibly, the best way to enjoy cauliflower.
Speaking of flavors, what really flavors this dish is the sweet smoked Spanish paprika and the Spanish Olive Oil. Since this recipe uses minimal ingredients, it´s important to use the good stuff here. It makes all the difference in the world.
TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: Make sure as your removing the florets from the head of cauliflower, that you cut the larger ones into smaller ones, that way they´re all similar in size. Once you add the florets into the boiling water, it should take between 4 to 6 minutes for the florets to be perfectly cooked. Just pierce them with a toothpick, if it easily goes in but with some resistance they are perfect. Do not over cook, otherwise the cauliflower will get mushy.
Key Ingredients & Cookware I used in this Recipe:
MY NONSTICK FRYING PAN
EXTRA VIRGIN SPANISH OLIVE OIL
SPANISH PAPRIKA
SPANISH SEA SALT
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Watch the Video Below on How to Make this Spanish Garlic Cauliflower
Spanish Garlic Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 30 ml
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika 2.30 grams
- handful fresh parsley
- pinch sea salt
- dash black pepper
Instructions
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Fill a stock pot half ways with cold water, season with sea salt and heat with a high heat
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Meanwhile, remove the leaves from a head of fresh cauliflower, cut off the stem and using your hands or a knife, separate the florets from each other, then cut the larger florets into smaller ones so they´re all evenly sized, transfer them into a colander and rinse under cold water
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Once the water comes to a boil, add the florets of cauliflower into the hot water, cook between 4 to 6 minutes or until you can pierce them with a toothpick and it easily goes in, then remove from the heat and drain into a colander, shake off any excess water, set aside
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Heat a large fry pan with a low-medium heat and add in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, after 3 to 4 minutes add in 6 cloves garlic roughly chopped, mix with the olive oil, after 1 minute add in 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika, mix together, then add in the reserved florets of cauliflower, season with sea salt & black pepper, gently mix together untill all the florets are coated in the garlic and paprika sauce
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Transfer into a serving dish and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Get the Spanish Olive Oil I used to make this recipe
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11 . Jul . 2023Melanie
Can you make this dish in advance?
24 . Nov . 2022Spain on a Fork
Absolutely! Much love 🙂
25 . Nov . 2022George Liberopoulos
02 . Nov . 2022Hello, from Chicago IL. I follow the Ketogenic diet and this dish is a killer dish. Since we are Greeks, I added 1 tsp. oregano and topped it with crumbled feta cheese and drizzled a little EVOO
It’s already added to my Keto recipes. Thanks for posting
Spain on a Fork
Sounds great! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love
03 . Nov . 2022Anna
Recipe sounds delicious! I’m going to a friend’s tapas party and would love to take this. Would it be good at room temperature?
07 . Aug . 2022Spain on a Fork
Absolutely!!! Much love 🙂
08 . Aug . 2022Vanessa
22 . Jul . 2022Delicious and my house doesn’t smell of cauliflower but beautiful garlic and sweet paprika. Very happy eater
Spain on a Fork
Glad you enjoyed the dish!! Much love 🙂
22 . Jul . 2022Mary
07 . Mar . 2022I had a head of cauliflower and my sister recommended I search Spain on a Fork. This recipe was easy and delicious. Thanks!
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Much love 🙂
08 . Mar . 2022Arthur Brown
27 . Jan . 2022Made it. It was delicious!
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Much love 🙂
28 . Jan . 2022Rita
26 . Jan . 2022A M A Z I NG! I couldn’t wait to try this after watching. I bought the cauliflower and my husband decided to try and make. He added a bit of crushed red pepper which gave a a bit of zing…we loved it! I then made it again without the crushed red and still amazing and couldn’t stop eating it…
passed the recipe along to my sister and friends. Thank you for these delicous and simple recipes that keep us cooking on busy weekdays.
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love
26 . Jan . 2022Pleasant Street
12 . Nov . 2021This is simple, delicious, and it got my husband to eat cauliflower, by making it more interesting
Spain on a Fork
Sounds great! Much love 🙂
12 . Nov . 2021Mariette
from South Africa, ………the cauliflower with garlic and smoked paprika is delishious . Will make it often, it is a nice change from our traditional recipe ….. cauliflower with a cheese bechamel sauce.
07 . Nov . 2021Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Much love 🙂
07 . Nov . 2021David
I generally love your dishes but this one fell short for me. It lacked kick (perhaps acid, like vinegar) and the garlic got lost. I am thinking about how I would improve on it if I did it again.
07 . Sep . 2021Dolores Clinton
18 . Aug . 2021Easy, quick and delicious! Thank you!
Spain on a Fork
Glad you enjoyed it! Much love 🙂
19 . Aug . 2021Christian Schoenberg
Been following you for a while. Just humble two cents. What makes your cooking blog so special – compared to SO many other sites (including the New York Times Cooking) is that the quantities/ingredients ALWAYS match up as do cooking times. And sooo tasty yet so simple! Quite impressive, really!
18 . Aug . 2021Big fan! All best,
Christian
Spain on a Fork
I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 much love
19 . Aug . 2021Michelle McClintock
Why don’t you put up the Spanish names of the dishes more often? They should be beside the English translations.
18 . Aug . 2021Spain on a Fork
The Spanish name of the dish is on the blog post 🙂 second paragraph, much love
18 . Aug . 2021