One of the surprising things to come out of our first year of a “mostly pescatarian at home” lifestyle has been a love of cauliflower. I wouldn’t say that I hated cauliflower before, but I certainly didn’t think about it much. Now, if I see cauliflower on a menu, I go out of my way to order it (hello cauliflower tempura from Kyoto Joe in Hong Kong!), and it is a regular star on our home menu as well.
I love cauliflower riced, fried, Parmesaned, grilled, mashed, in pizza crust and in gnocchi, but by far my favorite – and probably the easiest way to eat it – is roasted. Cut it into florets and add some salt, pepper and spices, and in 20 minutes or so, you have a delicious protein-like vegetable to eat the whole tray straight from the oven or use in a recipe. It works with pretty much every cuisine – Asian, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern and so many more.
When I saw this recipe for Cauliflower Hummus Bowls in my Pinch of Yum weekly email, I knew I had to make them that week! Me being me, I did end up changing things and turning it into a different recipe, but this is one of those dishes that lends itself to creativity and flexibility. Add roasted red pepper if you love them. Sub bulgur, rice or quinoa for the pitas if you prefer a non- bread option. Purchase the hummus if you have a brand that you love. This is a meal I hope you will make again and again and share your favorite versions with me.
So cheers to another year (check out my January 2020 Facebook post!) of plant-focused eating. It is hard for me to believe it has been a year since we committed to doing our best to stick to a vegetarian/pescatarian dinner at least 4 days a week! I will mark this occasion with 5 observations:
- Most weeks, we eat pescatarian 5-6 days because we love the recipes so much!
- We often choose veg and fish options even when we eat out or order in
- Broccoli is still a hard sell in our house – with the possible exception of Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Cheesy Croutons!
- We love cheese too much to ever be vegan 😂
- I can’t see ever going back of the meat heavy diet we used to have before!
It is never too late to make a change! We started with Meatless Monday (sporadically), and it took several years and a global pandemic to get us to go beyond that. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give up my Shake Shack burger, a perfect steak or crispy bacon, but I certainly enjoy them so much more now that they aren’t a regular thing. 😉
So let’s turn on the oven and roast some cauliflower, shall we?
Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cauliflower florets in large bowl and add olive oil, salt, pepper and spices. Stir to combine and spread out on prepared baking sheet.
Roast cauliflower until soft and starting to brown. (This should take about 25-30 minutes in total.) After about 15 minutes and stir the florets for more even cooking. You can add the pitas wrapped in foil at this stage to warm them if desired. Continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes.
While the cauliflower is cooking, dice the cucumber, quarter the cherry tomatoes, dice the onions and chop the parsley. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and add 2 teaspoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon salt. Season to taste with more salt, olive oil or lemon juice to taste.
Warm the pitas. You can do this in a pan on the stove or wrapped in foil or toaster oven if you didn’t do it with the cauliflower. Serve roasted cauliflower in bowls with hummus, salad, pitas and salad greens (optional.) Garnish with Aleppo pepper, if desired.
Roasted Cauliflower Hummus Bowls
This recipe was inspired by a one with the same name on Pinch of Yum. There are so many options for this one – add roasted red peppers, or Kalamata olives, or quinoa, bulgur or rice. It makes a delicious lunch or dinner either hot or cold. Get the cauliflower in the oven first and you can prep the rest of the ingredients while it is cooking.
Roasted Cauliflower
- 2 medium heads of cauliflower (cut into florets)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- few grinds black pepper
Cucumber Tomato Salad
- ½ English cucumber (diced)
- 1 pint (230 g) cherry tomatoes (quartered)
- ¼ cup red onion (chopped)
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups homemade or purchased hummus (*See note)
- 4 pitas (heated or toasted)
- salad greens (optional)
- Aleppo pepper (optional)
Roasted Cauliflower
Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cauliflower florets in large bowl and add olive oil, salt, pepper and spices. Stir to combine and spread out on prepared baking sheet.
Roast cauliflower until soft and starting to brown. (This should take about 25-30 minutes in total.) After about 15 minutes and stir the florets for more even cooking. You can add the pitas wrapped in foil at this stage to warm them if desired. Continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Cucumber Tomato Salad
While the cauliflower is cooking, dice the cucumber, quarter the cherry tomatoes, dice the onions and chop the parsley. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and add 2 teaspoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon salt. Season to taste with more salt, olive oil or lemon juice to taste.
Warm the pitas. You can do this in a pan on the stove or wrapped in foil in the oven or toaster oven.
Serve roasted cauliflower in bowls with hummus, salad, pitas and salad greens (optional.) Garnish with Aleppo pepper, if desired.
I like to make my own Israeli-Style Hummus with this Cooking Light recipe, but it does require advance planning since you need to soak the chickpeas the night before and it takes awhile to cook. The recipe makes a lot of hummus, so I usually keep half for the next few days and freeze the other half for another week. I put it in a container that just perfectly fits the hummus and press plastic wrap directly into the hummus before putting the lid on, and it tastes great after it thaws.
If you didn’t make or purchase your hummus it advance, or you are out of tahini, this quick version similar to the one from the Pinch of Yum recipe is quite good as well:
- 2 cans (14 oz/400 g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup ice cold water (remove ice cubes before adding to blender)
- 2 cloves garlic (pressed or grated)
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (or more or less to taste)
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process or blend until very smooth and fluffy. (This will take awhile. Around 3-5 minutes or so.) You can add more ice water and/or olive oil to obtain desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.