Harissa Cauliflower Steaks with Maple-Tahini and Herby Peanut Crunch
Spicy, savory and sweet with a slam of crunch and zest - this cauliflower number hits all of the right notes.
Ingredients
For the Cauliflower
- 1 Head of Cauliflower Organic, if available. Leaves trimmed and discarded.
- 1 Red Onion Peeled and cut into 8 similar sized wedges
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Harissa Found at most grocery stores
- 3 tsp Salt
- Pepper To taste
Maple-Tahini
- 1/2 cup Tahini
- 1.5 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 Lemon Juice only
- 1 tsp Salt Plus more, to taste
- 1/2 cup Water
Herby Peanut Crunch
- 1 cup Peanuts
- 3/4 cup Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Salt Plus more, to taste
- 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 cup Fresh Herbs Like Dill and Cilantro, chopped
- 1 Shallot, minced
Instructions
Peanut Crunch
- Add peanuts, minced shallot, oil and a couple pinches of salt to a small pot and heat over medium.
- Stir occasionally until shallots and peanuts begin to brown, about 20 minutes.
- While peanuts and shallots cook, add crushed red pepper, garlic powder and 2 tsp salt to a medium bowl and have a strainer/mesh sieve ready as well as an area on the counter with paper towels laid flat (our peanuts/shallots will be cooling on here).
- When shallots and peanuts are ready, remove pot from heat and carefully pour mixture through sieve/strainer over the bowl with the garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Slowly pour peanuts and shallots over paper towels in an even layer. Allow to cool for 20 minutes then mix nuts and shallots back into oil and spices and stir to combine.
Maple-Tahini
- In a medium bowl combine all ingredients except water. Mixture will thicken as you stir - add in water one tbsp at a time to loosen up mixture until desired consistency has been reached (you want to be able to drizzle it without being too watery). Taste and season as needed.
Cauliflower & Assembly
- Preheat oven to 425F. Carefully cut the cauliflower head in half directly througth the stem. Then cut a steak (approximately an inch or so thick) from each half. If your cauliflower is large enough you can of course cut additional steaks. Cut up remaining cauliflower and florets and arrange everything in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Drizzle cauliflower with 2 tbsp olive oil and 1.5 tsp salt and pepper
- Roast cauliflower for 15 minutes.
- While cauliflower is roasting combine remaining tbsp olive oil with Harissa and remaining 1.5 tsp salt. Stir to combine.
- Remove cauliflower from oven and evenly brush with reserved Harissa mixture. Add onion wedges to pan and roast for an additional 20 minutes (until cauliflower begins to take on some color on the edges).
- To serve, spoon and swipe some maple-tahini onto a plate, top with a cauliflower steak and some roasted florets and spoon over plenty of herby peanut crunch.
