Cauliflower has become one of our go-to sides for weeknight dinners. Both Marcelo and I love coming up with new ways to cook it. Neither of us have been convinced of the cauliflower crust pizza trend, BUT we love using cauliflower rice or puree as a base for stews. Our all-time favorite preparations is roasted cauliflower. Coming from a Middle Eastern family, cauliflower was a big part of our diet. We often would deep fry the cauliflower (which is delicious), but to cut back on calories, we opt for roasting it at high heat to create a similar crispiness.

One of the most important steps to achieving crispy roasted cauliflower is chopping it into small bite-size florets. This speeds up cooking time and creates more surface area for maximum cruchiness!

Roasted cauliflower can be made with all kinds of spices and sauces, and it almost always turns out delicious. We always prefer a little bit of spice in our recipes, so we decided to use harissa. Harissa is a spicy red pepper sauce that originates from Northern Africa (especially Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria). You can find many different types at the supermarket, some spicier than others. Trader Joes makes a great jarred Tunisian harissa for under $3 that worked great in this recipe. It was spicy enough to give it a kick, but not so spicy that it left our mouths on fire.

Nothing pairs better with spicy food than a nice yogurt sauce; and you already know garlic makes everything better. This garlic yogurt sauce was the perfect dip for the spicy cauliflower. We ended up eating this dish as a side to some great grilled tandoori chicken (recipe from The Woks of Life), but honestly, I could eat this roasted cauliflower by itself. It’s THAT addictive. Now if only cauliflower did not shrink so much so we could get more out of one head!

Let us know your favorite way to eat cauliflower!

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic Yogurt Sauce

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 head cauliflower cut in florets
• 2 tablespoons harissa
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Garlic Yogurt Sauce

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Lebanese seven spice
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Method

 

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine cauliflower florets with harissa, olive oil, garlic and salt.
3. Lay out spiced cauliflower evenly onto a baking sheet.
4. Place into oven and roast for about 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. Top with chopped parsley

Garlic Yogurt Sauce

1. Add yogurt, 1 clove garlic, salt, olive oil and seven spice into blender.
2. Pulse until smooth.
3. Top with drizzle of olive oil and chopped parsley.