Harissa Baked Cauliflower
Here’s a recipe that can be put with any of your favourite sides and vegetables for a feast, or simply enjoyed as it is for a hearty meal.
Course: Main Course
Keyword: Easy, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Baked Cauliflower
Servings: 2 people
Harissa Paste
- 1 Jar of roasted peppers plus 3 tbsp of its oil
- 1 tsp Chilli flakes
- 3 Cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
Harissa Sauce
- 4 tbsp Homemade harissa paste (see above)
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Maple syrup
- ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
- Salt & Pepper for seasoning
Baked Cauliflower
- 1 Medium cauliflower
- 75 g Quartered mushrooms
- 1 Yellow pepper roughly chopped
- 1 Tin of chickpeas drained
- The zest of 1 lemon then quarter the lemon
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- 1 Green chilli sliced leave the seeds in if you like some heat!
Pre heat the oven to 200°C. To make the harissa paste, blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth then transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for around a week.
Mix the harissa sauce ingredients in a jug and set aside. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower then roughly chop them. Carefully hollow out about the bottom of the cauliflower for an even cook. Place the cauliflower in the centre of your roasting dish then scatter around the leaves with the rest of your vegetables and lemon.
Pour the harissa sauce over the vegetables then cover the roasting dish with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the foil and bake for a further 30 minutes, occasionally stirring the vegetables and basting the cauliflower with the sauce.
Once the cauliflower is tender throughout, take it out of the oven then season, sprinkle over the sesame seeds and sliced chilli. This is ready to serve two people as it is, or you can serve with steamed kale & quinoa or a simple salad for four people.
I also spooned a couple of dollops of oat crème fraîche for some added creaminess, this is optional and tastes just as good without.