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I like to cook a very simple recipe for roasted potatoes: I peel and cut potatoes to cubes, mix them in a sauce of olive oil, garlic and sweet paprika and place in the oven for about an hour under aluminum foil. I then take out the aluminum foil and for about 10-15 for a crunchy texture.

Now, I want to add cauliflower to the dish. I plan to cut the cauliflower to small pieces and just mix them with the potatoes. I don't have much experience with cauliflower - will I get thoroughly cooked and crunchy cauliflower? Do I need to pre-boil the cauliflower?

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  • What is your baking temperature?
    – Catija
    Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 15:56
  • Baking temperature is about 200C.
    – Amir Rachum
    Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 17:59

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With an hour in the oven at roasting temperatures (400-450 F/205-230 C), small pieces of cauliflower will likely overcook, not under. Most recipes call for only 25-30 minutes in the oven at this temperature. Under foil, the cauliflower will add a lot of liquid - steam - and may even get sort of mushy before you remove the foil. You definitely don't need to pre-cook the cauliflower.

You haven't noted your baking temperature or the size of your cubes... for that long amount of time, I'm guessing you're baking your potatoes at a lower temperature, as recipes for 1/2 inch (1 cm) cubes of potato don't generally require that long of a baking time... but most recipes don't call for cooking under foil for that matter.

Have you thought about finding a recipe (if only for the methodology, not flavors)? Seems like you should be able to ditch the foil, cook at 400 F/205 C for about 30-40 minutes and be done with it.

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  • OP meant crunchy, like oven-crisp, I think, not crunchy by being undercooked.
    – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
    Commented Feb 16, 2018 at 16:57
  • @MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars Yes? Where did I say anything about undercooking? I specifically say that an hour will overcook the food, particularly in conjunction with par boiling it, which would likely turn the cauliflower to mush.
    – Catija
    Commented Feb 16, 2018 at 16:59
  • OK, misread first sentence ' OVERcooked, not under.' I thought you were referring to undercooked = crunchy by rawness. Amir asked 'will it be fully cooked and crunchy' as he is looking for crunchy surface on potatoes with combination cooking method.
    – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
    Commented Feb 16, 2018 at 18:27
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The method you describe is essentially a combination cooking method, not unlike par cooking potatoes for crisping like in homefries. To add cauliflower to this method, you have to match size and cooking time of the cauliflower to the potatoes, which are more dense, generally.

Roasted cauliflower can acquire a nice texture in the oven in the 10-15 minute uncovered time, presuming you are cooking at a high enough heat. little pre cook will probably help here, so it can spend time crisping.

I would experiment with blanching the cauliflower for about 10 minutes, or adding it to the covered potatoes for about 10 minutes, then uncover everything and finish at high heat.

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