BBQ Whole Spiced Cauliflower.
This recipe is totally inspired by an incredible Ottolenghi dish I tried many years ago, but Ive taken the spices up a notch and cooked it on the BBQ to get that lovely smokey flavour and charring. This is such a great veggie barbecue centrepiece and the flavour is amazing! Sure to convert ANY cauliflower haters out there…
Note on barbecuing: For all my BBQ recipes i use the Japanese style of grill called a Kamado (big ceramic egg-shape!). Kamado barbecues makes it easy to control the temperature and achieve an even cook, not dissimilar to an oven. If you’re using a different type and have difficulty controlling the temperature, you will need to adjust cooking times accordingly. For some recipes (including this one) a similar effect can be achieved by doing the majority of the cooking in an oven /on a hob before finishing it on the BBQ.
Ingredients.
Whole head of cauliflower, leaves removed and stalk trimmed slightly to create a flat base
To serve (optional): pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts, toasted flaked almonds, chopped herbs
Cauliflower Marinade:
2 tbsp olive oil
50g butter, melted
1 heaped tbsp ras-el-hanout
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or chilli powder
Generous pinch of salt, between half to a whole teaspoon - it depends on whether there is salt in your spice blend or your butter, so taste and adjust as necessary
Herb Tahini Sauce:
3 tbsp tahini
4 heaped tbsp Greek/Kefir yoghurt, or any thick, sour variety
Juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
Herbs: 1 generous handful each of parsley, basil & coriander
Pinch of salt, to taste
Equipment.
food processor/blender
barbecue
large saucepan with lid
pastry brush
Method.
Blanch the whole cauliflower in boiling water for around 8 minutes
Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the cauliflower marinade
Remove from the water and pat off the excess water with a clean tea towel
Brush around 1/3 of the marinade over the cauliflower until its saturated, and set aside until you’re ready to barbecue. Keep the remaining marinade for basting later
Add all the ingredients for the herb tahini sauce to a food processor and blend until nearly smooth but with a little texture. If its too thick, add a splash of water or oil
When you’re ready to cook, place the cauliflower on the barbecue and brush it with more marinade. Close the lid and cook on indirect heat at 220-250c for around 30 minutes, basting periodically with the remaining marinade until its all used up. If your barbecue setup only allows for direct heat cooking (over flame) then you may wish to increase the blanching time and decrease the barbecue time, to ensure the cauliflower is cooked through but not burnt. Some charring is good though - this is where the flavour is created!
Once the cauliflower is nicely charred and cooked through (test with a knife at the stalk), remove from the heat
Spread the herb tahini sauce on a serving dish and place the cauliflower on top, sprinkled with your chosen toppings
