Spiced Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Another recipe from The Minimalist Baker…. I loved the technique for baking the cauliflower & seasoning it….

I really like the recipes from The Minimalist Baker

This roasted cauliflower recipe calls for shawarma spice..I didn’t have any but there is a recipe on The Minimalist Baker to make this spice combination at home…which I did, then I used it for this recipe. I will give you the recipe for the spice mixture too.

I did made a couple changes to the spice blend recipe…I left out cloves & used less cumin ..this suited our taste better but here is the link to the original recipe so you can have a look & decide which way you want to make it. DIY Shawarma Spice Blend  I will give you the recipe I used here..inspired of course by the original one. The recipe makes more spice blend then you need for this particular recipe so I look forward to using it on some chicken… & maybe on some chickpeas that I would roast up nice & crunchy! And Schwarma Spice is delicious on toasted pita, just spread some pita with olive oil, sprinkle on some Shawarma Spice then put onto a lined baking sheet into a preheated 350f oven for about 10-12 minutes. You can cut the pita into triangles or leave home. 

Then, I made the cauliflower the way the recipe says..except I cooked it longer,,, I like my cauliflower soft.

Just to note… my son loved this & Murray not so much.. I think he didn’t like so much spice on his cauliflower…so next time I will just use less of the spice mixture & then I am sure he will like it!!

This can be used as a side dish, a main with some cooked grains…some chick peas on the side.. some Hummus to eat with it… there are many ways to enjoy this delicious whole cooked cauliflower, Drizzled with Tahini Sauce would be great! To make the tahini sauce, take 1/2 cup tahini paste add a minced clove of garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup water. Mix well then taste & adjust the taste! You may want to add more lemon juice or salt. This will get thick so you might need to add a bit more water but add it a tbsp at a time just so it does not get too thin.

Here is the recipe

Ingredients & Method for the Spice Blend

Shawarma Spice Blend

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp coriander

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp paprika

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl & store in a jar

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

1 large whole head of cauliflower

2 tbsp oil *** I happened to have avocado oil which was recommended in the recipe but you can use any oil just not olive oil as it is not meant for high heat

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp shawarma spice blend or use curry powder if you don’t want to make the spice blend

1 – 2 tsp harissa *** I have ground harissa spice so I used this… if you like things more spicy you can add more or less depending on your taste

2 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

Method 

Fill a small baking pan…I used an aluminum foil pie plate.. with water…halfway & put it in the oven on the lower shelf …this is a tip for baking a whole cauliflower…it makes steam which helps the cauliflower to cook evenly

Preheat oven to 400f

Have a baking dish or cast-iron skillet ready to put the cauliflower in to bake in the oven. If you are using a baking dish, I would spray it with some cooking spray for easier clean up! I used a cast-iron pan & the leftover sauce  burnt in the pan

1. Remove the stalk and leaves from the cauliflower, but keep the core in place..this holds the head together… wash & dry the cauliflower & put it upside down in an oven safe dish..you can use a cast-iron skillet or any dish that isn’t too much bigger then the cauliflower
2. Mix the oil, water, shawarma spice blend, harissa, maple syrup; & salt in a bowl
3. Pour most of this mixture on & around  the base of the cauliflower so that it pours down the core…I loved this way of seasoning the inside of the cauliflower! What a great idea!
4. Shake the cauliflower a bit so the seasoning mixture gets down the centre of the cauliflower
5. Turn the cauliflower over
6. Brush the remaining seasoning mixture all over the outside of the cauliflower & put it back into the baking dish
7. You can sprinkle some salt on top now if you want
8. Place the seasoned cauliflower into the oven & roast for about 30-50 minutes depending on how soft you like it & how big your cauliflower is. I used a long pronged fork to see how soft it was & when it was as soft as I wanted it to be I knew it was done
9. If you want to brown the exterior more, you can put the cauliflower under a broiler for a couple minutes…original recipe suggest 2-4 minutes…watch it so it does not burn
10. That is it!

Enjoy!

Mking the spice blend

Making the Cauliflower