Cauliflower Shawarma

This was the veggie option at the pop up. Cauliflower is so underrated and so versatile. This dish is colourful, tasty and very easy to make and it looks soooooo beautiful. It can either be made using a large cauliflower as a sharing dish, or with mini cauliflowers for individual servings. The recipe below is for sharing.

Ingredients

Serves 4 - 6

1 large cauliflower

For the spiced butter

40g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp sumac

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground allspice

2 cardamom pods, crushed in a pestle and mortar and seeds removed.

For the tahini sauce

100g tahini paste

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

100ml iced water

To garnish

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

1 small green chilli, finely chopped

2 tbsps pomegranate seeds

1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander and parley

Method

1. Combine all the spiced butter ingredients into a mixer and whip. The butter should be aerated and evenly coloured. This can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container.

2. To prep the cauliflower, trim some of the outer leaves but leave some stragglers behind. Add the cauli to a large pan of boiling salted water and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove from the water and place on a wire rack to drain. Don't over cook it as you'll also be roasting it.

3. When drained, brush liberally all over with the spiced butter and season generously with salt and pepper.

4. Place in a pre heated oven (about 220), and roast for about 5-7 minutes until lightly charred all over.

5. To make the tahini sauce, put the paste in a bowl and add the lemon juice and garlic. Whisk to combine, then gradually whisk in the ice water. At first it will thicken to a coarse paste, but will loosen to the consistency of runny honey. Season to taste.

6. Transfer the cooked cauli to a serving plate. Drizzle with the tahini paste and the pomegranate molasses. Sprinkle over the pine nuts, parsley/coriander, pomegranate seeds and drizzle with a bit of olive oil to add a nice gloss. Serve immediately.