Roasted cauliflower with chickpeas, pine nuts and tahini sauce

A while ago I attended a special dinner at Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna. The dinner was held in their Chagall room where a long table was set with linen, flowers and crystal and dinner was served family style. The Chef served a dish of roasted cauliflower and chickpeas that was just my kind of food. I adapted it to my vegetarian cooking style omitting the prosciutto that he draped over the dish. I didn’t have his recipe but here is my recreation.

 

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I must like cauliflower because I was just checking my blog and found out that I have about 15 recipes for cauliflower. (Laura and Val, get on the program). Here are some of them:

Yellow and white cauliflower saute with herbed crumbs

Risotto with roasted cauliflower and radicchio

Cauliflower and potato gratin with creme fraiche

Cauliflower soup with gorgonzola

Cauliflower fritters

Roasted whole cauliflower with tahini, pine nuts ands roasted pepper

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Ingredients:

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1 small creamy white compact hear cauliflower

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

2 cups cooked chickpeas (can use canned, rinsed)

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted in a little olive oil

A few leaves spinach, lightly steamed.

Tahini sauce (see below)

Lemon wedges

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Directions:

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Separate the cauliflower into small florets. Cut the tender part of the stem as well into similar size and place all cauliflower in a bowl.

Drizzle cauliflower with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat cauliflower florets with the oil.

Preheat oven to 400F. Spread to cauliflower florets on a foil ;lined baking sheet and roast in the oven until they begin to turn golden. Do not over cook.

Remove from oven and set aside.

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To assemble:

 

Arrange cauliflower on a serving dish, scatter some chickpeas around and tuck the steamed spinach leaves here and there.

Drizzle with tahini sauce and sprinkle with pine nuts and chopped parsley.

Serve with lemon wedges.

 

 

Tahini sauce:

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1 cup tahini paste
1/2 cup water, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Juice from half a lemon
1 garlic clove, minced or grated

Spoon the tahini paste into a bowl.

Add a 1/3 cup of the water and mix with a whisk until smooth, adding more water as necessary to reach a creamy sauce. It will get smooth as you continue to whisk.

Add the salt and squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over.

Add the garlic, taste and adjust for salt and lemon juice.

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