Whole roasted cauliflower Supreme

with two sauces

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I’m fascinated by the phenomenon of trendy food. Something that’s always been there is suddenly on everyone’s radar.

And now, the lowly cauliflower is all the rage.

Since I’ve always liked cauliflower, I was enthusiastic to try all the newfangled cauliflower concoctions, especially because so many people in my family are vegetarian. Buffalo cauliflower with bleu cheese dip? Definitely. Mashed cauliflower? Sure, as long as I can still have mashed potatoes. Cauliflower rice? A bit weird, but ok. Flatbread with a cauliflower crust? Surprisingly tasty.

It seemed as though every vegetarian website sported some version of whole roasted cauliflower, so I decided that I should give it a go, as well.

I gave the vegetable a generous dose of good olive oil, added some seasonings, and roasted it at 350° for an hour and a half, at which time it was finally fork-tender.

But I was underwhelmed by my result. It was good, but there was no color contrast. The cauliflower was kind of bland.

Today, I was thinking that a whole roasted cauliflower would make a lovely and elegant entrée for this week’s vegetarian Shabbat dinner, but so far my attempts haven’t been interesting enough for it to take center stage on Shabbat. I want it to look spectacular. I want more color. I want more flavor. I want fabulous.

 Tahini sauce seems to be a popular way to serve this dish and I was happy to go along with the plan—you could put tahini on a shoe and I’d eat it.

 Here’s how I got to fabulous.

Through my lack-luster attempts I’d already figured out a few tricks: It was important to use enough olive oil so that it gets into every nook and cranny, making sure that every floret is kissed by the oil. I’d also learned that the way to a creamy center and a golden brown, crispy exterior was to par-boil that big white ball before roasting it.

For ideas beyond that, I turned to Google for inspiration. Nothing clicked for me, but what I found out was really exciting.

What I learned was that roasted whole cauliflower, the dish that’s so popular everywhere, was originally served at a vegetarian Shabbat!

According to an article on Haaretz.com, Eyal Shani, the Israeli chef who made whole roasted cauliflower famous, was first served the dish at the home of his business partner, Shahar Segal. Segal had learned it from his mother.

Now it made perfect sense that it was so often served slathered in tahini sauce. It’s Israeli!

As I stated, I’m a big fan of tahini, so I whipped some up and drizzled it over my roasted cauliflower. It was delicious, but not exciting to look at. An off-white sauce over a white vegetable?

I wandered through my brain, looking to see if there might be a great idea hiding out somewhere among the convoluted pathways of that mysterious place. Suddenly, I remembered this wonderfully green za’atar dip that I had gotten the recipe for from Saveur magazine, about five or so years ago. That dip had been a hit. I’d served it to my family with some trepidation, alongside the challah at Shabbat dinner, and they all—even the toddler—loved it.  Then I forgot about it and I never made it again.

But I remembered it now and thought that, thinned with a little more olive oil to make a flowing sauce, it would look gorgeous over all that white. It did, and the flavor of the za’atar paired perfectly with the vegetable and the tahini. (Fortunately, I save food magazines forever.)

From there, it was stream of consciousness. I was in the groove. I seasoned some chickpeas with smoked paprika, sautéed them in olive oil until they were crisp, and tossed them of top and all around. Then I added crumbled feta. Toasted pignolis came next, and I topped it all off with the crown jewels of the fruit world, bright and shiny pomegranate arils. Now, it was worthy of main course status. Now it was Roasted Cauliflower Supreme. It was carved at the table like a proper roast and it really was fabulous. So many flavors and textures hitting the tongue at once, each one calling, “check me out!”

We’d arrived at fabulous!

So without further ado, I present to you, Roasted Cauliflower Supreme.

Ingredients for the cauliflower:

• 1 large head of cauliflower

• ¼  cup extra virgin, fruity olive oil

• juice of half a lemon

• 1 clove garlic, pressed

• a sprinkling of smoked paprika

• a few grinds of black pepper

For the Toppings:

• Tahini sauce (recipe below)

• Green za’atar dip (recipe below)

• A can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• Salt

• Smoked paprika

• Olive oil as needed to fry the chickpeas

• Pignolis (pine nuts), as much as you’d like (toasted for just a few minutes, in the oven or on the stovetop)

• Feta cheese, as much as you’d like (leave it out if you’re serving a kosher meat meal)

• Pomegranate arils, as much as you’d like.

Method:

For the Cauliflower

• Preheat the oven to 425° F.

• Grab a pot that’s big enough to give the cauliflower room to swim. Fill it halfway with cold water.

• Salt the water generously, enough for it to taste like the sea. Don’t worry about using too much salt. Most of it will stay behind in the water, but if you don’t add enough, the cauliflower won’t absorb any of it and will taste flat.

• While the water is heating, trim away the stem and any leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower, but be careful to keep it intact.

• Carefully lower the cauliflower into the boiling water, lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook it for about 8 - 10 minutes. It should be starting to soften when you take it out (which I did with tongs), but still firm enough to hold its shape. Set it aside to cool.

• While you’re waiting, combine the olive oil with the lemon, garlic, and smoked paprika in a small bowl.

• When the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, use your hands to massage it all over with the seasoned oil, top and bottom. When you’ve got it upside down, pour in a little of the oil to make sure all the florets are coated in it.

• Place the cauliflower, florets-side up, on a cast iron skillet or other heavy, oven safe skillet, and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Try not to let the foil actually touch the cauliflower

• Place the skillet on the middle rack in the oven. Roast it for 30 minutes, covered.

• Remove the foil from the skillet (don’t forget the pot holders—that handle will be hot!) and continue to roast it until the cauliflower is golden brown on the outside and tender on the inside. This will probably take about 15 minutes.

• Set your roasted cauliflower in the center of a nice serving plate.

• First, generously pour tahini sauce over all.

• Then, pour the green za’atar dip over the tahini.

• Add the chickpeas. Some will stay on top; most will fall to the bottom of the plate. Let them lie where they fall.

• Crumble some feta and sprinkle it over all.

• Add the pignolis

• Sprinkle the pomegranate arils over everything, and serve your masterpiece with more of both sauces on the side.

For the Chickpeas

• Season the chickpeas with a sprinkle of salt and a dash of smoked paprika. Sauté them in a small glug of olive oil until crispy.

For the Tahini Sauce

In case you’re not familiar with it, tahini is a paste made from crushed sesame seeds. When people think of tahini, they often think of tahini sauce, but the stuff you’ll buy is plain tahini with nothing added.

Tahini is used liberally throughout the Middle East. You’ve probably encountered it in hummus. Most big supermarkets carry it, but know that, like peanut butter, all brands are not the same. In my opinion, the Joyva brand has the best flavor. Happily, it’s the one that most stores have on their shelves. Amazon carries it in a 3 pack. (Tahini sauce has a shelf life of a few days in the fridge, but plain tahini in a can stays good forever.)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup tahini paste

• Lemon juice 2—4 tablespoons, to taste (It should taste lemony without overpowering the sesame flavor)

• 1 garlic clove, chopped

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• Ice cold water as needed.

Method:

• You can do this by hand, with a whisk, but I prefer to make it in a food processor to achieve a super smooth consistency.

• Combine the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Process until well combined and smooth. The mixture will be very thick.

• With the machine running, slowly pour in 1/3 cup of ice cold water. You’ll see the sauce turn smooth and lighter in color. If you plan to use the tahini sauce as a dip, you’ll want to stop here. If you want to create a flowing sauce, as for this cauliflower recipe, add more water, just a tablespoon at a time, until you’re satisfied with the consistency.

For the Za’atar Dip

Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 cup olive oil

• 3 tbsp. za'atar (Lebanese spice mix), or more to taste

• 6 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Combine everything in a food processor and whoosh until you have a smooth sauce.

If you’d like the sauce to be thinner, add a little more olive oil.