Treat cauliflower as the star in this harissa roasted cauliflower. The harissa marinade is sweet, spicy and indulgently buttery. Serves 8 people as a side, or fewer as a vegetarian main with crusty bread and a crisp salad.
Servings8
Equipment
- Baking sheet – It should be large enough to fit all the cauliflower with space between the wedges with a rim to contain the buttery sauce. I use a half-sheet pan that meassures 13” x 18” (33cm x 46cm).
Ingredients
- 4 pounds whole cauliflower heads (2 to 3), with leaves if possible
- 2 red onions, peeled, trimmed and cut into six wedges each
- salt, for blanching
Harissa butter marinade
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons harissa paste, or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, from 1 whole lemon (reserve the lemon)
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
To serve
- black pepper and salt flakes, to taste
- lemon wedges, from the reserved lemon
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into quarters (or in half if you have tiny cauliflowers). Leave any cauliflower leaves attached at the base. Just trim them back a touch so that the top of the cauliflower is exposed.
- Fill a large pot with well-salted water – I use a tablespoon of salt per quart (litre) of water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a rolling boil. Blanch the cauliflower in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Press down on the cauliflower with a spatula to keep them submerged. You may need to blanch them in batches if all the cauliflower can't fit into the pot. Transfer to a colander and drain well.
- Preheat a conventional oven to 400 °F (or 360 °F for a convection oven).
- Mix all the ingredients for the harissa butter marinade in a medium-sized bowl. Rub each piece of cauliflower in harissa butter and place them on a large parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet cut side down (so that the outer leaves are exposed). The baking sheet should be large enough that there is space between the cauliflower pieces. Distribute the onion wedges across the gaps, and spoon the remaining harissa marinade over the veggies.
- Roast for 30 minutes. Baste the cauliflower and onions with the harissa juices from the baking sheet. Then turn the heat down to 370 °F (340 °F in a convection oven) and continue to roast for another 30 to 40 minutes, basting twice, until the cauliflower is well-browned, the leaves are crispy, and the inside soft.
- Transfer everything to a serving platter. And drizzle with the remaining harissa butter and browned aromatics from the baking tray. Serve at once, with a generous grind of black pepper, salt (use Maldon flakes if you have them) and the lemon wedges alongside.
Notes
- Different brands of harissa will have different levels of spiciness. Have a taste and swap some tomato paste for more harissa if you want more heat. Try a harissa paste substitute if you don't have harissa, or make your own rose harissa paste from roasted red bell peppers, or try easy harissa paste from dried chiles.
- If you made this harissa butter recipe, melt the harissa butter and whisk together with the olive oil, tomato paste, maple syrup, and chilli flakes. Add an extra ¾ teaspoon of salt, another minced clove of garlic, and another tablespoon of harissa paste.
- This recipe was tested in a conventional oven, though I suggest convection oven temperatures based on industry standards. Every oven is different, so use your senses to adjust your oven temperature accordingly. You want the cauliflower to be tender inside and well-browned on the outside. The size of your cauliflower chunks also impacts the cooking time.