Tahini roast cauliflower

Tam West

A whole roasted cauliflower is a stunning centrepiece on the dinner table. The taste of this is incredible; you’ll be surprised by the deliciously warm spiced and nutty tahini coating. I’ve used ras el hanout, a fantastic blend of spices from Morocco and North Africa. It translates to “head of the shop” — a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer — and it really is the “top shelf” of their spices.

Ingredients

1 medium	Cauliflower (Main)
2 tsp	Ras el hanout, see pantry notes below (Main)
3 Tbsp	Tahini (Main)
2 tsp	Lemon juice
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 Tbsp	Water
½ tsp	Salt
½ cup	Finely chopped parsley
½ cup	Mint, finely chopped
½ cup	Coriander, finely chopped
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice
2 tsp	Lemon zest
⅓ cup	Roasted hazelnuts, peeled and chopped; see pantry notes below (Main)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C. Brush an ovenproof dish with olive oil.
2. Trim the base of the cauliflower so that it stands up. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook for 8 minutes, drain and pat dry.
3. Mix ras el hanout with tahini, 2 tsp of lemon juice, olive oil, water and salt, and spread all over cauliflower with clean hands.
4. Roast cauliflower for 30 minutes or until it can be pierced easily with a fork. Increase oven temperature to 220C and cook for additional 5-10 minutes.
5. Mix herbs with olive oil, lemon juice, zest and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
6. Drizzle roast cauliflower with herb oil and top with roasted hazelnuts.

Pantry notes

• Ras el hanout is available at most supermarkets and speciality food stores or order online atequagold.co.nz
• To roast hazelnuts, bake in the oven at 160C for 15 minutes, taking care not to over-roast, allow to cool then rub in a clean towel to remove skins.

More of Geoff's winter vegetable recipes

• Creamy leek and fennel gratin
• Eggplant parmigiana