tahini fried cauliflower

i try to avoid buying cookbooks if for no other reason that i'm overwhelmed enough as is with the massive span of recipes available on the internet. my bookmarked recipes folders are bursting at their invisible paper seams and i'm plenty distracted from my homework by the foodblog stratosphere without a library of cookbooks to ogle. so even though i've been intrigued by all the recent hype about yotam ottolenghi and his purportedly fabulous books, plenty and (the modestly titled) ottolenghi: the cookbook, i knew that at $20 a pop, it was extremely unlikely that i would ever buy them--even after trying (and loving) his crushed potatoes with horseradish and arugula.

and then, quite recently, i made an earth shattering discovery. he has a column in the guardian. and it's available online, for free. i had to actually restrain myself from sifting through the entire archive, because i was bookmarking every other recipe i laid eyes upon. "the new vegetarian" is focused on inventive, uncomplicated meatless recipes that often incorporate eastern flavors (ottolenghi is israeli): lots of tahini, yogurt, saffron, candied lemon. things i love, and things i want to play around with more.

i made this cauliflower as a side dish for those lentils i was talking about, and it was perfect. you fry cauliflower to a golden brown crisp and then dress it with a tangy, nutty tahini yogurt dressing. my two changes were to use far less oil for frying than ottolenghi suggests (500 ml is obscene) and to swap in an apple cider reduction for the pomegranate molasses.* the sauce is certainly a winner, one which i would like to use elsewhere: as a dip for grilled flatbread (or even sliced apples?), thinned down for a salad dressing, as a sauce for chickpeas...
one last note is that next time, in an effort to be more calorically and monetarily economical, i might skip the frying and instead oven-roast the cauliflower with a glug of olive oil and sea salt. i might also top the finished product with some chopped nuts of some sort--maybe almonds--for a little bit of extra crunch. ooh, and maybe some lemon zest too.

*pomegranate molasses shows up in a lot of middle eastern cooking, but is essentially reduced pomegranate juice. it's tricky to track down in stores and probably somewhat expensive, so you could make your own by cooking down juice at home. you could also swap in an apple cider reduction as i did, or just leave the molasses out--i don't think the finished product will suffer without it.

fried cauliflower with tahini
adapted from the new vegetarian
serves 6 as a side

• 500 ml sunflower oil (i used roughly 100 ml of grapeseed oil)
• 1 kg of cauliflower, split into bite-sized florets
• 8 spring (green) onions, each cut into three long segments
• 180 g tahini
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 15 g chopped parsley (i skipped this)
• 15 chopped mint, plus more to finish
• 150 g greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp pomegranate molasses, plus more to finish (see note above)
• malden sea salt and black pepper
• roughly 180 ml water

heat the oil in a large saucepan. lay in a few cauliflower florets at a time (i did two batches total) and cook for two to three minutes, turning so they color evenly. once golden-brown, transfer to a colander with a slotted spoon, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to drain. repeat with the rest of the cauliflower. next, fry the spring onions, also in batches, for a minute. add to the cauliflower and leave to cool down.

pour the tahini paste into a large mixing bowl and add the garlic, herbs, yogurt, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and seasoning. stir with a wooden spoon as you add the water. the tahini sauce will first thicken and then loosen up as you add water. don't add too much, just enough to get a thick yet smooth pourable consistency, a bit like honey.

in a large bowl, toss cauliflower and onion with half of the tahini dressing. taste and add more if necessary--i used probably 2/3 of mine and then served the rest at the table for people to add if they wanted to.

to serve, spoon into a serving bowl and finish with a few drops of pomegranate molasses and some mint.