Harissa roasted cauliflower is a delicious, healthy and gorgeous dish. The cauliflower is nicely charred, tender and it bursts with flavours. The lovely pomegranate, along with harissa, turns it into a special vegetarian main course. This simple, yet impressive dish is perfect for upcoming holidays.
I love winter dishes. Especially the warming ones. More, I love to use different spices to add heat and flavour. And this time, I decided on a spicy paste called harissa.
I mentioned harissa in the spice roasted pumpkin salad recipe. What a lovely spice! Harissa, a hot pepper chili paste, will bring the colour and the flavour to your dishes. You can add a small amount, just to give an extra kick to your food or go big, and add more to feel flames in your mouth. Wink.
I love pomegranate. This fruit is sooo delicious and juicy! But have you ever tried to cut it open? What a mess! Right? My kitchen was “painted” with pomegranate juice every time. Wink. Well, those times are gone.
Have you ever wondered how they cut a pomegranate on tv in some cooking shows? Yeah. We’ve all read about it or seen it on tv, how easy it is to simply make them fall out of the shell. Looks so easy.
How to cut a pomegranate without making a mess
Well, let me tell you something. It works. You just need to make the right cut. Ready? Take the pomegranate and make a shallow cut around the circumference of the rind. In other words (hopefully, this will make it easier) imagine the pomegranate is a planet and the crown is the north or south pole. Well, you need to make a cut where the equator is. Wink.
Moreover, carefully pull the pomegranate apart, place one half (cut side down) in your hand and hit the rind using a wooden spoon. The seeds will easily fall out of it. No mess. No stress. Amazing.
In fact, I wrote a recipe some time ago, using the same two ingredients, cauliflower and pomegranate. Check out the roasted cauliflower salad or this sweet potato beef bowl, with pomegranate as well.
Further in the recipe, I mentioned that you need to make a deep cut in the cauliflower. Why? Making a deep cut into the stem will allow the cauliflower to cook faster and at the same time to absorb the juices from the pan. Also, since you are roasting the whole cauliflower, the portioning and cutting after the baking will be much easier.
Ingredients for one harissa roasted cauliflower:
- 1 small or medium cauliflower (500-700 g)
- 3 Tbsp plain natural yogurt
- 3 tsp harissa paste
- 1 tsp apple vinegar
- red cabbage
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- finelly chopped peanuts (or any other nuts)
- 1 pomegranate
To begin, preheat the oven at 180º C. Then, trim the leaves around the cauliflower head. Now, flip the cauliflower and make a deep cross cut into the stem.
Furthermore, in a small bowl combine yogurt, harissa paste, a splash of vinegar, salt and pepper. Place the cauliflower (stem down) in an ovenproof frying pan and rub it with the harissa-yogurt mixture.
At this point, cut the pomegranate in half and squeeze one half, through a sieve, over the cauliflower, pour 150 ml water in the pan and put to bake for 1 hour.
In the meantime, slice the red cabbage into 0,5 cm thick slices, remove the pomegranate seeds from the half left (check above the ingredients how to cut the pomegranate) and chop the peanuts.
After 1 hour, pour the juices from the bottom of the pan over the cauliflower, add the red cabbage to the pan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and put in the oven for additional 25 minutes.
In conclusion, remove the pan from the oven, baste it with the juices one more time and sprinkle with peanuts straight away. Last but not least, add the pomegranate seeds.
Finally cut the cauliflower into quarters or, eventually smaller pieces. Serve this spicy harissa roasted cauliflower either just as it is, with some chicken, pork or with some potatoes. Delicious. It makes a beautiful addition to your holiday table.
Enjoy!
