Roasted Cauliflower

So I’ll start this recipe by admitting upfront that this is based off the fried cauliflower meal that is so popular in Lebanon. After the cauliflower has been fried, there’s so much you can do with it!

• This can (and is usually) wrapped into a sandwich along with some pickles, tahini sauce and fresh tomato slices.
• Using a piece of bread or fork, just dip it in tahini and enjoy along with other fried veggies such as eggplant, zucchini and onion.
• Put in a pyrex glass dish and Tahini (and some pomegranate molasses) are added to it and it’s baked for 5 minutes and broiled for another 2.

Given that my conscience would give me no sleep if I voluntarily deep fry food at home (I’d sleep perfectly fine if I eat 2 packs of McDonalds fries — and then do 150 sit-ups), I’ve found a way to make cauliflower just as yummy, but roasted in the oven. Here you go:

(p.s. it’s super low carb!)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium/large head of cauliflower
• 3–4 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper for flavoring
• 3 ground garlic cloves or 1.5 tsp dried garlic powder

Optional seasonings:

• Sumac (my favorite)
• Paprika
• Dried Basil
• Literally any seasoning mix you can think of (cauliflower is a sponge that absorbs flavor)

Tahini Sauce:

• 1 small ground clove of garlic (optional but recommended)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Pinch of salt
• 3–4 tbsp Tahini
• Cold water

Directions:

• Heat oven to 180C / 350F
• Line a large oven tray with wax paper or aluminum foil. It’s important that the tray is large so that the cauliflower florets are not cramped for space otherwise you’ll get a mushy result
• Clean the cauliflower and chop into medium/large florets (approx. the size of a mandarine)
• Put them into a bowl, add the olive oil, and toss them around so that the oil coats the florets evenly, then add all spices and seasonings and toss them around a bit more
• Let them marinade for 15–20 minutes before you pop them onto the oven tray

All lined up and ready to roast

• I cannot stress this enough, make sure they’re spaced out and not cramped up against each other, once you’ve organized your baking tray, pop them into the oven for 30–40 minutes until roasted and golden/brown in color
• To make the tahini sauce, let the garlic and lemon juice sit for 5 minutes (garlic wont be as sharp when it marinades in acid), then add the tahini, and mix it with the lemon garlic mixture and keep mixing it until your paste thickens to the point that it’s closer to solid than liquid. Then you gradually add cold water, tablespoon by tablespoon while mixing continuously until you get the consistency you desire. The consistency for optimal taste and experience should be like that of honey.
• Remove the cauliflower from the oven, and dip in tahini sauce and enjoy!

Aaaand they’re done!