Spiced roast cauliflower and garlic with tahini yogurt dressing

Lisa Linder

The spiced cauliflower salad is fantastic with a braised shoulder of mutton, or grilled lamb chops. This recipe serves 6 as a side dish.

This recipe is taken from Peter Gordon's new book, Savour: Salads for all Seasons

Cauliflower

1 large	Cauliflower, green leaves and excess stalk removed (Main)
1	Red chilli, chopped
4	Garlic cloves, sliced
3 Tbsp	Sesame seeds
2 Tbsp	Nigella seeds
4	Green cardamom pods, crushed
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 small handful	Parsley leaves
1 small handful	Mixed soft herbs, eg. mint, basil, tarragon

Dressing

2 Tbsp	Tahini paste
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice
100 ml	Greek-style plain yoghurt
½ tsp	Lemon zest, finely grated
2 Tbsp	Olive oil

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Cut the cauliflower into florets and place in a roasting dish with the chilli, garlic, sesame seeds, nigella seeds, cardamom, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a little salt. Toss everything together and roast, tossing occasionally, until the cauliflower browns at the edges and the garlic become golden, about 30 minutes. If the garlic begins to darken before the cauliflower is ready, add 2 tablespoons of water to the roasting dish. Remove from the oven and leave to cool (unless you want to serve it warm).
3. Mix the tahini to a slurry with the lemon juice and 5 tablespoons of water. Stir in the yogurt, lemon zest and olive oil. Season with salt.
4. To serve, toss the cauliflower with the dressing and herbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.

More salads from Peter

• Venison, coconut curried pumpkin and mustard cabbage
• Puy lentils, quinoa, pomegranate, roast grapes and tomatoes, chilli, mint and basil