18/01/2021
This is a superb recipe I borrowed from .hemsley. Just made little personal tweaks, made it vegan and used some beetroot. This is one of my current vegan favourite. Packed full of nutritional goodness and tasting amazing! This recipe is based around cauliflower - a wonderful and versatile vegetable and since it is a cruciferous vegetable it also supports female health as it helps to balance hormones.The phytochemicals contained in cruciferous vegetables help the body to detoxify excess oestrogen. Excess or out of balance oestrogen can contribute to hormonal issues such as PMS, PCOS, Endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, mood swings, headaches weight gain and others as well as cancer and therefore including cruciferous vegetables in your diet is key especially during peri-menopause and menopause. No other group of foods has a better track record when it comes to cancer prevention. They provide nutrient support for immune system, inflammatory system, hormonal system, detoxification system and antioxidant system - areas which need to function well for cells to remain healthy. You’ll love it - it’s a corker and done in 30 mins!
Chermoula Cauliflower on Herby Bean Dip
INGREDIENTS
1 medium cauliflower (about 800g) save the leaves
2 tbsp of coconut oil
Sea salt and black pepper
For the Chermoula Spice mix:
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
To taste: chilli flakes or 1/4 tsp cayenne
For the Herby Bean Dip:
240g cooked white beans or chickpeas (1x400g tin, drained & rinsed)
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 big handful fresh parsley & coriander, leaves and stems roughly chopped separately
Extra virgin olive oil to serve
Preheat the oven to fan 220°C/Gas mark 9. Slice two 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 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 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 in the oven to keep warm).
Blitz all the dip ingredients 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 florets and leaves. (Here comes my twist, I had some cooked beetroot which needed eating when I made this so you can divide the dip mix and add beetroot to your second batch when blitzing. If you want to get a great pink colour do not make the mistake I made of putting the coriander stems with this batch as it will turn more brown than pink, but it still tastes delicious if you do.)
There’s also a red cabbage slaw to accompany this if dish which also look great!
