Middle Eastern Whole Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Whole roasted cauliflower, with tahini sauce and smokey paprika dressing.

5 from 1 vote

Middle Eastern Whole Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

A whole cauliflower, Middle Eastern style, roasted until charred and caramelized at the edges, and then covered in a smoky paprika dressing is one of the most beautiful and delicious vegetarian dishes you'll make. Placing it on a tahini sauce makes this a main dish. (Modified from The Mezze Cookbook).

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: vegan main or side dish

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: middle Eastern cauliflower, roasted whole cauliflower

Servings:

Calories: 454.3kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Equipment

baking sheet
Cooling rack or other rack to raise the cauliflower from the water
Chef's knife
Whisk
small pan

Ingredients

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

2 ½ pound whole cauliflower
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Tahini Sauce

½ cup tahini
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ whole lemon, zested and juiced
½ teaspoon honey, or agave to keep it vegan
salt and pepper to taste

Smoky Paprika Dressing

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves minced, or 1 ½ tablespoons garlic paste
1 ½ red Fresno chiles finely diced (see Ingredient Notes)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon hot paprika (see Ingredient Notes)
1 teaspoon Pimenton de la Vera Smoked Paprika (Dulce) (see Ingredient Notes)
½ whole lemon, juiced

For Serving

½ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Set up. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Insert a cooling rack (wire rack) into a baking sheet.
Prep. Using a sharp chef's knife, cut away the leaves around the base of the cauliflower. Trim the bottom so the the cauliflower sits evenly.
Rub the surfaces of the cauliflower with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper.
Steam. Place the cauliflower on the rack and pour the water into the baking sheet. Cover the cauliflower and pan with foil and tightened the foil around the edges as best you can.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender when pierced with a knife. (At high altitude, this can take 5 - 10 minutes longer.)
Note: The body of the post provides alternate methods of steaming a whole head of cauliflower.
Roast: Remove from the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 425˚F (at high altitude, the best charring will be at 450˚F). Remove the foil and move the cauliflower aside. Pour out the water, replace the cauliflower on the rack and season again with salt and pepper.
Roast until lightly caramelized and charred, about 25 minutes (at high altitude, roast for 30 minutes).

Tahini Sauce

Whisk. While the cauliflower roasts, whisk together all of the ingredients for the tahini sauce in a medium sized bowl. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
Slowly whisk in 5-6 tablespoons iced water, adding only a couple of tablespoons at a time. The sauce will separate, but keep adding the water while whisking. It will magically become a silky sauce.
Tip: Dampening a dish towel, and wrapping it around the bottom of the bowl will help keep it in place while you whisk.

Smoky Paprika Dressing

Sauté. While the cauliflower roasts, warm the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and chile, and sauté for about 3 minutes, or until very fragrant, and the garlic begins to take on some color.
Add the remaining ingredients except for the lemon juice. Sauté for another 30 seconds to lightly toast.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the lemon juice.
Set aside.

For Serving

Spread the Tahini Sauce on a serving platter, and place the roasted cauliflower centered on top of it (as shown in photos in the above post).
Gently spread the florets of the roasted cauliflower, and drizzle the Smoky Paprika Dressing over the top. It will run down into the cauliflower and down its outside onto the Tahini Sauce.
Sprinkle coarsely chopped parsley over the top.

Notes

Ingredient Notes

Red Fresno chile pepper - These peppers are medium-heat peppers, slightly higher in heat than jalapeño peppers. If you don't them at your market, substitute jalapeño, or for more heat, use a Serrano pepper.
Hot paprika - This is the one I've used for years. Hot paprika is spicier than sweet paprika, but ranges from mild to moderate depending on the peppers used to make it. But it's still generally milder than many other chili powders like cayenne.
Pimenton de la Vera - This is a Spanish smoked paprika that's FABULOUS. It's available hot (picante), dulce (sweet and mild), and agridulce (bittersweet and medium-hot). I use the dulce version for the smoky flavor without added heat.

Nutrition