Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Harissa Yoghurt
Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable but often the cauliflower leaves are thrown away despite their great flavour, especially when slow-roasted and charred. This straightforward recipe roasts the cauliflower whole with little prep making for a laid-back dinner with zero waste.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 Cauliflower
200ml Water
4 tbsp Yoghurt
1 tsp Harissa paste
½ Lemon juice and zest
1 Garlic Clove, crushed
2 tbsp Dukkah (optional, see notes)
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/as Mark 6.
Stab the cauliflower base into the stem twice to form a cross. This will help the centre of the cauliflower cook and also makes it easier to portion later.
Place the cauliflower snuggly into an ovenproof casserole dish with 200ml of water at the bottom.
Mix the yoghurt, harissa paste, lemon zest and juice, and the crushed garlic clove in a small bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper then spoon half of the yoghurt mix over the top of the cauliflower. Spread the yoghurt around so it cover all the cauliflower and some of the leaves.
Place the cauliflower in the oven and bake for an hour.
Insert a skewer or knife into the cauliflower to check it is cooked, it should give little resistance. Spoon over another spoonful of the yoghurt and top with Dukkah, if using.
Remove from the dish and cut into 4 wedges. Serve with the remaining yoghurt and couscous salad or rice.
Dukkah is an aromatic nutty seasoning that works great with Middle Eastern dishes.
To make:
Roast 50g of nuts for 6 minutes at 180°C (any combinations work, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts etc. sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds work well too).
Place the roasted nuts in a pestle and mortar or small food processor with ½ tsp fennel seeds, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp sesame seeds, and ½ sea salt.
Grind or blend until well combined and broken down. I like to have some texture with the nuts.
Store in an airtight tub or jar for 2 months.
Recipe courtesy of Rowen Halstead
