Now that the lighthouse application has been turned in—a whopping 60 pages—I’m ready to turn my attention back to showing you how to cook inexpensively. In October, I travelled to Chicago, Mexico City, and Toronto to finish up the last of my planned vacations but, fear not, my Instagram stories show lots of cooking stints in between.
It may come as no surprise as one of my favorite inexpensive cooking hacks is to roast vegetables. You can choose from endless spice combinations, slather with oils, rubs, and even cover in Greek yogurt. As you know, I shop the sales so I got this head of cauliflower for only $1.99. It’s a biggie and I know it can feed four people easily. As a meal, I like to cover it with nuts and dried fruit and torn herbs and then serve it on a large platter atop a steamed grain like couscous or quinoa.
I recently had the pleasure of eating an amazing cauliflower dish in Old Toronto at a place called Fat Pasha. My host swears it wasn’t as good as it normally is but I only saw positives and certainly potential for the home cook to absolutely nail it.
I have two main roasting tips: use high heat 450 degrees or above and use more oil and seasoning than you think you should.
Now. Get. To. It.
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Fat Pasha Inspired Cauliflower
Serves: 4-6; Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Cauliflower:
1 head of cauliflower
1T Za’atar
1T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Skhug:
Pinch of dried chili flakes
3 Garlic cloves
Half bunch of parsley
Half bunch of cilantro
2t salt
2t olive oil
1/2 C Ice
Tahini Sauce:
1/3 C Tahini
2 Garlic cloves
2T lemon juice
1/4 C water
1T Olive oil
1t salt
Garnish:
1/4 C Pomegranate seeds
1/2 C Toasted pine nuts
Directions:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425 ̊F.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a sheet pan with aluminum foil, set aside.
Step 3
Remove the outer green leaves of the cauliflower as well as any browning stems or florets. Rinse thoroughly.
Step 4
Once water comes to a rolling boil, add the cauliflower and cook for 2 minutes.
Step 5
Remove the cauliflower from the water and place on the sheet pan and score down the centre to expose the middle slightly.
Step 6
Drizzle with the olive oil, za’atar and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Step 7
Bake the cauliflower in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden and beginning to crisp.
Step 8
Meanwhile, in a food processor combine the garlic, parsley, cilantro, salt, olive oil and ice for the skhug. Pulse until combined. Set the sauce aside and give the bowl a quick rinse.
Step 9
Next, make the tahini sauce. Add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt to the food processor and pulse. While the food processor is going, gradually add the water until you achieve the right consistency. You may not need all of it. If Add in the lemon juice, feel free to add an extra squeeze for flavour.
Step 10
When the cauliflower is ready, drizzle both sauces on top and sprinkle on the pomegranate and pine nuts. Stick in a knife, serve and enjoy!
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What I’ve been up to:
Cooking: Lentils, French Onion Soup, Penne Alla Vodka
Reading: Getting to Zero; Attached; and Hilda books to Milla.
Watching: Maid, Succession, and the beautifully torturous remake Scenes From A Marriage.
Thinking about: How to make breakfast poutine; investing my HSA; what it means to be trauma informed; and retiring by 59.
Planning: Trips to Todos Santos and Balandra Beach.