If you follow the blog, I'm sure you realized that I love cauliflower. It is such a versatile vegetable. However, I never jumped on the Whole Roasted Cauliflower bandwagon. I always cut up my cauliflower into floret and roasted them that way. But now, roasting it whole is my favorite way to go! This spicy roasted cauliflower recipe is the best: the cauliflower comes out perfectly cooked and full of flavor. It’s a crowd pleaser. The flavors and fun and festive. The cauliflower is spicy, the tahini sauce is earthy, the cilantro sauce is fresh, and the nuts are the perfect texture. I promise you’ve never seen any other whole roasted cauliflower like MINE. It’s delicious, different, healthy, pretty, and easy. The different textures and temperatures are a perfect combination. Food like this has a way of disappearing on us.
Ingredients:
2 cauliflower, trimmed
Spicy marinade:
10 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoon shatta or Sambal Oelek
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
1/2 small lemon, juiced
1/2 tablespoon salt
Tahini sauce:
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
1 lemon, juiced
Salt to taste
Cilantro Sauce:
zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes or other red pepper flakes
flaky sea salt to taste
1/3 CUP extra virgin olive oil
For serving (optional):
Slivered roasted almonds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add 1 inch of water to a large pot and bring to a boil.
Mix together all ingredients for the spicy marinade in a small bowl and set to the side.
Add cauliflower, bottom down, cover and steam over medium heat 10 minutes. Let drain well in a colander.
Place the cauliflower on an oven sheet and coat with the marinade, you can use a brush for this. Roast in middle rack of the oven 30-35 minutes, or until cooked through and nicely roasted.
In the meantime, mix together all ingredients for the cilantro sauce in a separate bowl and set to the side.
Also, mix together ingredients for tahini sauce in a food processor.
Toast slivered almond in olive oil over stove, stir constantly, until lightly golden. Remove from heat, transfer to plate, draining from the oil, and set aside.
Once cooked, place the cauliflower on serving dish.
Before serving, drizzle the cauliflower with the tahini sauce and the Cilantro sauce, finally top with toasted almonds.
