Chermoula Cauliflower on Herby Bean Dip with Slaw

Serves 2 with leftovers, takes 30 minutes

Chermoula Cauliflower on Herby Bean Dip with Slaw by Melissa Hemsley Photo: Supplied

Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower, save the leaves (about 800g)
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Chermoula spice mix

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• Chilli flakes or 1/4 tsp cayenne, to taste

Herby bean dip

• 240g cooked white beans or chickpeas (1 x 400g tin, drained and rinsed)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 big handful or a mix of fresh parsley and coriander, leaves and stems roughly chopped separately
• Extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Slaw

• 1/4 red cabbage (150g), finely shredded
• 1 green apple, cut into matchsticks
• 1 celery stick and leaves, sliced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp mustard

Method

Preheat the oven to fan 220°C/Gas mark 9. Slice 2-3cm thick steaks off the cauliflower and roughly chop the remaining cauliflower florets and the leaves, keeping them separate. 

Mix together all the ingredients for the chermoula.

Put the cauliflower florets in a roasting tray with 1 tablespoon of the ghee or oil, half of the chermoula spice mix, sea salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, adding the chopped cauliflower leaves halfway through and tossing everything together.

Melt the remaining ghee or oil in a large frying pan and fry the cauliflower steaks for 2 minutes on each side, then add the remaining spice mix and carefully turn again, coating the steaks in the spice. Cook for a further 2 minutes until just tender (you could now pop them in the oven to keep warm).

Meanwhile, mix all the slaw ingredients together with the parsley and coriander leaves in a medium bowl and season to taste.

Blitz all the dip ingredient in a food processor with the parsley and coriander stems and taste for seasoning. Add 2-4 tablespoons cold water until nice and thick. Divide the green bean dip between the plates, drizzle with olive oil and top with the hot cauliflower steak and the floret and leaves. Serve the slaw on top or on the side.

Extracted from EAT GREEN by Melissa Hemsley, pubilshed by Ebury Press, Random House UK. Photography by Philippa Langley.