One of my most popular recipes that also happens to be super simple!

I don’t think it gets much better than golden fried cauliflower, creamy tangy tahihi and crunchy spiced dukkah. This has to be one of the most deceivingly easy salads to make. If you want, you can buy the dukkah and tahini dip instead of making it yourself, then all you have to do is fry some cauliflower and whizz some nuts and you’re done!

Pan-fried cauliflower is one of my favorite things and this salad is all about the cauliflower. It’s really important to take the time and effort to get the cauliflower just right. You want it golden and crispy whilst still retain some crunch hand texture. I always say (to my meat eating friends that is) to treat it like a good steak! What I mean is take care and respect the cauliflower. Don’t crowd it in the pan, have it on a high heat, well seasoned, plenty of oil and only turn it once when it has a nice colour.

I have noticed that a lot of fried cauliflower recipes deep-fry the cauliflower. This is both quicker and easier than they way I suggest. However, I have experiment with deep-frying and whilst it does turn the cauliflower a very beautiful golden is does not have the same smokey flavour and firmness of texture that you get from pan-frying. But by all means feel free to test it out and decide what your like the best.

This salad is great with anything Middle Eastern – I love it with falafels. It also keeps well (for a salad) and will last for a few days in the fridge.

Whilst this is a simple salad, it does contain a few different components including making the dressing and the dukkah. But don’t let that put you off, it’s easier than it looks!

Cauliflower, Tahini and Dukkah Salad Recipe

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes Total time: 40 minutes

Dietary notes: This is Gluten free and vegan. FODMAP variation to the tahini dressing is provided. If you do not tolerate cauliflower (high in mannitol) replace with Dutch carrots.

Ingredients

Half a medium cauliflower

½ cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil (approximately)

3 handfuls of baby spinach

2 tablespoons of dukkah - see recipe below

3 tablespoons of tahini dressing – see recipe below

Salt and pepper

Method

Cut the cauliflower into small flat florets a couple of centimetres thick. Heat a large frypan on a high heat. One it is hot, add 1 generous tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Place a small handful of the cauliflower floret in to the hot oil - careful it may spit. Make sure the cauliflower is not too close together, you will probably only fit around 8 pieces depending on the size of your pan. Season well. After a few minutes when you can see the edges of the cauliflower browning, turn each piece over. The idea is to get each piece nice and golden, at least on onside.

One the cauliflower has browned on the other side (it usually won’t got as nice and golden as the first side due to there being less oil left), remove from the pan and set aside. Wipe the pan clean and repeat this process (don’t forgot to season!) until all the cauliflower is cooked. You may need to used more oil. Whilst the cauliflower is cooling, make the dukkah and tahini dressing as per the recipes below.

To assemble, place half of the baby spinach in a large serving bowl (one that is flatter and not too high is best). Scatter half the cauliflower over the top and drizzle one tablespoon of tahini dressing evenly over the cauliflower. Repeat this process with the remains ingredients. The last step is to sprinkle the dukkah over the dressing and you are done!

You can pre-fry the cauliflower and store in the fridge for a couple of days if you need. The salad will also last assembled for two days. Note the dukkah and tahini dressing (in the fridge) will last for 2 weeks

Dukkah Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup of toasted hazelnuts (most of the skins removed)

2 tablespoon of toasted white sesame seeds

1 tablespoon of freshly roasted and ground cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of white sugar (optional)

½ teaspoon of salt

Method

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz for about 30 seconds - 1 minute or until it resembles course breadcrumbs. You still want to be able to see some chunks of hazelnuts and not turn it into a nut meal. Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to. The reason I sometimes add a small amount of sugar is to mask any bitterness. You may like to omit the sugar or find your need more.

Tahini Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup (120g) of tahini – the best you can buy!

1 teaspoon of creamed garlic - see instructions below for creaming garlic

1 tablespoon of lemon juice 1 ½ teaspoons of sugar or sugar alternative

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon of salt

¾ cup of water

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Place all ingredients in a blender. Alternatively use a bowl and a whisk or a stick blender. Whizz until combined and smooth. Taste and adjust to your liking i.e. add more lemon if you think it needs more of a tang. If you like it runnier or thicker just add more or less water, just remember it will firm up in the fridge so make it runnier than you will want it. Place in a jar and store in the fridge. This should last at least a week. This is a very versatile dressing but also great as a dip – perfect with falafels as many of you would know! Now I better get working on the FODMAP falafel alternative.

How to make creamed garlic

The reason I use this instead of chopped up or minced garlic, when a recipe calls for raw garlic is that this method reduces the heat and intensity of raw garlic. This means I can use more garlic and get more garlic flavor into it without it being quite as full on. To cream garlic place 2- cloves of nice and fresh peeled garlic in a mortar. Add 1 very generous teaspoon of nice quality salt and grind up with the pestle. It might sound like a lot of salt but the garlic helps to retard its saltiness. Once its pretty smooched up and like a rough paste, add two teaspoons of olive oil and continue grinding and mixing until you have a nice nearly smooth paste. Ready to use. It’s best used in the first couple of hours but you can cover it with oil and keep it for a day if you need to. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can do this on a chopping board using the back of a metal spoon. It will just test your patients a bit more.

FODMAP variation to the tahini dressing: Omit the garlic and replace with 1 teaspoon of garlic oil (FODMAP friendly). You will also need to add some extra salt, taste and add an amount to your liking.