roasted cauliflower with tahini & spiced pistachios

Cauliflower was meant to be roasted. In its natural state, it can be bland and boring. But, when roasted, it has the best glow-up of all the veggies. It caramelizes and transforms into this sweet and nutty vehicle for lots of different flavors. The seasonings in this dish are simple (mostly cumin and lemon), but it comes together really nicely and looks beautiful. If you can get your hands on purple cauliflower, it adds a little drama because the cut side of purple cauliflower, turns hot pink when seasoned with lemon juice.

This recipe also happens to be vegan. So, for those of you out here treating your bodies like plant-based-temples, as you enter the new year, this recipe is for you! For those of you treating yourselves like temples in other ways, this recipe is also for you--but, you could top it with a little bit of crumbled feta and absolutely no one would complain. Serve it hot or room temp, top with lots of herbs and enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini and Spiced Pistachios 

Ingredients:

 1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

Juice of ½ lemon

For the dip:

4 tablespoons tahini 

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons cold water

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt to taste

 For the spiced pistachios:

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

¼ cup chopped pistachios

3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 375F.  Cut cauliflower into florets.  Cut larger florets in half to make them all roughly the same size.  Toss florets in olive oil and salt.  Transfer cauliflower to a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes without disturbing them.  Toss the cauliflower with a spatula, to promote even browning.  Roast another 15 minutes, or until fork tender and golden brown.  

Step 2: 

Meanwhile, prepare you tahini sauce by combining the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a bowl.  Add the hot water little by little until the mixture becomes the consistency of smooth hummus.  Depending on your tahini, you might not need all of the water to achieve this texture.  You might need a little bit more.

Step 3: 

Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a small pot over medium heat.  Add the cumin seeds and pistachios.  Heat for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Remove pot from heat and add the pomegranate seeds.  Be sure to turn off the heat before doing this because the seeds will start to pop and oil could splatter.  Swirl the oil mixture and set aside.

Step 4:

To plate, spoon the tahini mixture onto the bottom of a medium sized plate or shallow bowl.  Arrange the cauliflower, cut side up, over the tahini.  Squeeze ½ lemon, evenly, over the cauliflower.  If you are using purple cauliflower, the florets will turn bright pink where the lemon touches them.  Spoon the oil mixture over everything.  Top with a grind of black pepper or a pinch of red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs, if you have them.  I used parsley because that’s what I had on hand, but mint, cilantro, fennel fronds, or scallions would also work really well, on their own or together.