Roasted harissa cauliflower

Roasted harissa cauliflower is a flavorful side dish from Morocco. The dish has a mild kick that comes from harissa paste used in the recipe. The dish is served with a simple creamy tahini sauce, pomegranate, and fresh herbs, they deliciously compliment the heat of spicy harissa paste.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Moroccan, North Africa

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 148kcal

Author Vandana Chauhan

Equipment

Oven
1 baking tray
1 Large mixing bowl
1 Spatula
Knife and chopping board
1 small whisk or spoon

Ingredients

Ingredients for roasted harissa cauliflower

1 medium cauliflower head around 7 cups cauliflower florets
1 medium red onion sliced
3 tablespoons harissa paste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Ingredients for tahini sauce

2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large garlic clove minced
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1-2 tablespoons warm water to adjust the consistency of the sauce

Other ingredients for garnishing

½ cup pomegranate arils
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix harissa paste, tomato paste, olive oil, cumin powder, ground black pepper, and salt.
Cut cauliflower head in bite-size florets. Put them in the bowl of harissa sauce mix. Add sliced onion. Toss until the sauce evenly coats all the florets and onion.
Spread the harissa coated cauliflower florets and sliced onion on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200℃ (400℉) for around 25 minutes or until the cauliflower gets roasted well. Take out the tray and allow the florets to get slightly colder then transfer to a serving plate.
In a small bowl. mix tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Add a little warm water to adjust the consistency,
Drizzle tahini sauce over roasted cauliflower.
Garnish with chopped fresh mint leaves, parsley, and pomegranate arils.

Video

Notes

Making tahini sauce is optional. You can serve harissa cauliflower without it too. However, the creaminess and mild flavors of tahini sauce go really well with the bold flavors of harissa cauliflower and make the dish taste even better.
Non-vegans may also make a Greek yogurt sauce and use that instead of tahini sauce.
Harissa paste is slightly spicy. You can add a little brown sugar or maple syrup to balance its heat. Non-vegans may add honey too.
If you prefer more spicy paste, add red pepper flakes or hot sauce to the harissa mixture.
Harissa paste also has salt in it, taste a pinch of harissa paste to decide how much salt you want to add.
You can also roast unpeeled whole garlic cloves with cauliflower. Use the pulp of these roasted garlic cloves in tahini sauce instead of raw minced garlic.
Lemon zest can also be added to the harissa sauce for a more refreshing taste.
Feel free to use spices and herbs of your choice to flavor the harissa mixture like garlic powder, onion powder, coriander powder, etc.
Different ovens give different results so you may need to bake the cauliflower for a little less or longer time. Keep an eye on the cauliflower after 20 minutes.
You can add some toasted pine nuts, pistachios, almonds, or crispy chickpeas on top.
Add some finely chopped medjool dates or any other date of choice to add more sweetness to the dish. You can drizzle some date syrup too.
More tips, tricks, and variation suggestions are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.

Nutrition