Vegan Side Dish: Cauliflower Tahini

Tahini is a sesame paste that is very popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. Most people know it as a staple ingredient to make your own hummus, but after my trips to Israel I know better. You can use tahini for so many things! I created a vegan side dish with tahini and cauliflower.

Your mother might have overcooked cauliflower until there was nothing left but a tasteless and textureless vegetable. But if you roast cauliflower in the oven it gets a nice crispy bite to it and you keep more flavor and more vitamins.

This recipe for cauliflower tahini is completely vegan, so you can use it as a side dish for your vegan dinner. I combined it with potato rösti and vegan shoarma for example.
This side dish is also gluten-free, so perfect for gluten-free dinners!

I used store bought tahini for this recipe, but you can also make your own tahini. Just roast 140 grams (1cup) of sesame seeds in a pan and add them with 2-4 tablespoons of (olive) oil to a food processor. Mix until smooth.

Got some tahini left over? Make your own hummus or baba ghanoush.

Recipe Cauliflower tahini

Vegan side dish for 2

Ingredients:
1 small cauliflower (you want to have around 200 grams per person)
1 teaspoon of paprika or chili powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon of (fresh) parsley

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius, you want a hot oven for this so 220 degrees is better dan 180 degrees. You can even put the empty oven tray in the oven when preheating so that the tray will get warm too.

Cut the cauliflower in florets. In a large bowl combine the cauliflower, paprika and olive oil. Divide over the oven tray and bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime mix the tahini with the water and lemon juice. If the tahini sauce isn’t smooth enough you can add a bit more water.
Sprinkle the parsley over the cauliflower, serve the cauliflower with the tahini sauce.