Make Space on the Barbecue for This Charred Tahini Cauliflower
Photo courtesy of Tom Bowles.

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Food

Make Space on the Barbecue for This Charred Tahini Cauliflower

Rescue that brassica from the back of your fridge and get ready to grill. So much better than cauliflower pizza.

OK, so cauliflower pizza ended up being a big fat disappointment (spoiler: nothing tastes as sad as biting into mush when you're used to gluten-overloaded dough), but that doesn't mean we should dismiss the humble brassica entirely.

Rescue that cauliflower from the back of your fridge, clear space on the barbecue, and get ready to roast. Because these veggies can handle the heat.

RECIPE: Barbecue Cauliflower Shawarma, Pomegranate, Tahini, and Pine Nuts

And if you have bad childhood memories of your Gran's boil-in-the-bag florets, fear not. John Katz of Middle Eastern restaurant Berber & Q can fix even the soggiest of cauliflower PTSD. He serves the whole head—leaves and all—of his cauliflower in shawarma-spiced butter and tahini sauce, before throwing onto the grill. The cauli is charred until smoke emanates from the furls of its leaves—because everyone knows the burnt bits are the best bits.

Add a final flourish of nutty tahini sauce, pomegranate molasses, rose petals, and olive oil. We reckon even your Gran will dig this cauliflower.