A mia madre piace il cavolfiore con olio e limone.

Because with piacere, Italian usually expresses the person who experiences the liking as an indirect object.

So:

• A mia madre = to my mother
• piace = is pleasing
• il cavolfiore = the cauliflower

Italian structures this idea more like:

Cauliflower is pleasing to my mother.

That is why a is used.

Because piacere agrees with the thing being liked, not with the person who likes it.

In this sentence, the thing being liked is:

• il cavolfiore = singular

So the verb is singular:

• piace = singular

Compare:

• A mia madre piace il cavolfiore. = My mother likes cauliflower.
• A mia madre piacciono i cavolfiori. = My mother likes cauliflowers.

So the verb changes according to il cavolfiore / i cavolfiori, not according to mia madre.

The grammatical subject is il cavolfiore.

That can feel strange to English speakers, because in English we say my mother likes cauliflower, where my mother is the subject.

But with piacere, Italian works differently:

• A mia madre = indirect object
• piace = verb
• il cavolfiore = subject

So literally, the sentence is closer to:

To my mother, the cauliflower is pleasing.

Because in Italian, singular close family members usually do not take the article when used with a possessive adjective.

So you say:

• mia madre = my mother
• mio padre = my father
• mia sorella = my sister

Not usually:

• la mia madre

This rule normally applies to singular, close family nouns. But with plurals or modified forms, the article often appears:

• i miei genitori
• la mia sorella maggiore

In your sentence, mia madre follows the normal rule.

Because mia madre has no article, so there is nothing for a to combine with.

• a + la = alla
• but here there is no la

So:

• a mia madre = correct

If you had a noun with an article, then contraction would happen:

• alla signora
• al ragazzo

But mia madre here does not use an article, so it stays a mia madre.

Italian often uses the definite article with foods, categories, and general nouns where English may use no article.

So:

• il cavolfiore can mean cauliflower in a general sense, or cauliflower as a food
• English often drops the article: My mother likes cauliflower

This is very common in Italian:

• Mi piace il caffè.
• Adoro la pasta.
• Non mangio la carne.

So il cavolfiore is perfectly natural.

Yes. Italian word order is more flexible than English.

These are both natural:

• A mia madre piace il cavolfiore con olio e limone.
• Il cavolfiore con olio e limone piace a mia madre.

The meaning stays the same.

The first version emphasizes to my mother a bit more, or simply starts with the experiencer. The second starts with the thing being liked.

Italian often moves elements around for focus or style.

It describes il cavolfiore.

So it means:

• cauliflower with oil and lemon
• in other words, cauliflower dressed or served with oil and lemon

It is not usually understood as modifying mia madre or the verb. It attaches naturally to the food.

Because after con, Italian often leaves out the article when talking about ingredients, seasonings, or materials in a general way.

So:

• con olio e limone = with oil and lemon

This sounds natural when you mean the ingredients generally.

You could also hear:

• con l’olio e il limone

but that sounds more specific, as if referring to particular oil and lemon already known in context.

In your sentence, the article-less version is very natural.

No, that is not correct in standard Italian.

With piacere, you need the person as an indirect object:

• A mia madre piace il cavolfiore.

Without a, the sentence does not work.

If you want a structure more like English, you would need a different verb, for example:

• Mia madre ama il cavolfiore. = My mother loves cauliflower.

But for likes, piacere is the normal verb, and it requires the a + person pattern.

Not structurally, no.

In meaning, it often corresponds to English to like, but grammatically it behaves more like to please.

So:

• Mi piace il gelato. = I like ice cream.
• Literal structure: Ice cream pleases me.

That is the key to understanding sentences like this one.

If you remember that pattern, A mia madre piace il cavolfiore becomes much easier to understand.

You would usually use an indirect object pronoun:

• Le piace il cavolfiore con olio e limone. = She likes cauliflower with oil and lemon.

Here:

• le = to her

You can also combine both for emphasis or clarity:

• A mia madre le piace il cavolfiore con olio e limone.

That is common in spoken Italian, although the basic sentence without le is also correct.

Then the verb would become plural too.

For example:

• A mia madre piacciono i cavolfiori.

Here:

• i cavolfiori = plural subject
• piacciono = plural verb

So the rule is:

• singular thing liked → piace
• plural thing liked → piacciono

Yes, that is a very natural interpretation.

Il cavolfiore con olio e limone is understood as a specific way of preparing or serving cauliflower. So the sentence can suggest:

• she likes cauliflower with oil and lemon
• perhaps more specifically than cauliflower in other forms

Context decides how strong that idea is, but the phrase definitely presents oil and lemon as part of the food being liked.