By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- 5(479)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This Middle Eastern sauce goes wonderfully with foods other than roasted cauliflower. It’s traditionally served with falafel and keftes, fish, salads, deep-fried vegetables — or just with pita bread.
Featured in: Tahini: The Taste of Healthy Middle Eastern Cuisine
Learn: How to Cook Cauliflower
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves four to six, with some sauce left over
- 1large cauliflower, broken into florets
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3garlic cloves, to taste, cut in half, green shoots removed
- 1cup sesame tahini
- ¼ to ¾cup fresh lemon juice, to taste
- 1cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (2 bunches)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
328 calories; 27 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 527 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the cauliflower. Blanch for two minutes, and transfer to the ice water. Drain and blot dry. Transfer to a baking dish.
Step
2
Season the cauliflower with salt and pepper, and toss with the olive oil. Place in the oven, and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring from time to time, until tender and lightly browned.
Step
3
Puree the garlic cloves with ¼ teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a bowl, and whisk in the sesame tahini. Whisk in the lemon juice, beginning with the smaller amount. The mixture will stiffen up. Gradually whisk in up to ½ cup water, until the sauce has the consistency of thick cream (or runny yogurt). Stir in the parsley. Taste, and adjust salt and lemon juice. Serve with the cauliflower. You will have some sauce left over.
Tip
- Variation: A plain tahini-garlic sauce is made the same way, without the addition of parsley.Advance preparation: The color won’t be as nice, because the acid in the lemon juice will dull the green of the parsley. But the sauce will taste good for three or four days. Keep in the refrigerator.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
Ratings
5
out of 5
479
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Cooking Notes
Stephen
Please, please do not boil the cauliflower.Here is how to cook it. Get two identical rimmed baking sheets. Toss the raw, cold florets with some olive oil on one of the sheets, then invert the other sheet on top of it. Roast at 425 for 10-15 minutes. This will lightly steam them in their own moisture. Take the top sheet off, shake the sheet with the florets on it (or flip them one by one if you have the patience), then put back in for another 10-15 minutes.Caramelized, cooked, not soggy.
Stacy
The key to the tahini-parsley sauce is a 1-to-1 ratio of lemon juice to tahini (it's always perfect). But make one-fourth or even one-half the sauce recipe. I made half and that was too much.
LindaL
I love roasted cauliflower. The easy tahini sauce adds a great dimension. To serve two, I used a smallish cauliflower and made only half the sauce, and I still had some sauce left over.
Harriet
It took much longer than 40 minutes to roast this cauliflower. But this was just fine. I used harissa flavored olive oil to toss it, which gave it some spunk.
Nancy
I par-cook cauliflower in the microwave to kick start cooking, about 3 minutes in a microwave safe bowl for the quantity in this recipe - it should be steamy but still uncooked. Then add oil and S&{ and stir up really well. You can even turn the heat up to 425F to get more and faster browning for the cauliflower.I do this with lots of hard vegetables. It's a great way to get roasted vegetables done while preparing the rest of the meal and greatly reduces total cooking time.
Gojil
Cooked the cauliflower on the grill in a large cast iron frying pan in olive oil until browned. When almost done, added some garlic, red pepper and when done threw in some al dente bow tie pasta. Served with the tahini sauce and lots of parsley. Great vegetarian meal and the pasta pick up the flavor of the cauliflower.
Stephen
If you roast them sandwiched between two identical rimmed baking sheets for about the first half of the baking time (take the top sheet off for the second half of the time), it greatly reduces the cooking time. They come out soft but not soggy, caramelized but not burnt.
Anna
No point in making more sauce than you need. I mixed 3 TBSP each tahini and lemon juice and parsley and it was perfect amount for one head of roasted cauliflower. Also- add 2-3 TBSP pomegranate seeds-- it makes all the difference. And I agree with previous posts- DO NOT blanch cauliflower- ruins the texture!!
Danielle
I did as several other commenters suggested and used the second-sheet-pan trick instead of blanching, putting a sheet pan overtop the raw cauliflower while roasting for 20 minutes, then roasting uncovered until fully done. I did flip the veg over a couple times to get nice crispy edges.I also took the lazy way out and used a smoothie cup in my Ninja blender to make the sauce. Just threw everything but the water in there (even the parsley) and blitzed it, then added water bit by bit.
Paola
I serve this on top of a bed of quinoa for a full meal. Tastes delicious changing cilantro for parsley and also adding sprinkles of smoked sweet Spanish paprika when serving.
Mary
This was good, especially made with UK Bitter Beans. But it was all about the herb oil, which is delicious on pretty much anything!
Mary
Agree with previous reviewers that needs less sauce. I found three tablespoons tahini and two of lemon juice just right for a large cauliflower. Served over orzo.
WizardOfBoz
I add cumin - a couple teaspoons - to the cauliflower before roasting. Also, I roast ar 450F. Good recipe! Great for co*cktail hour noshing.
cynthia a
Yummy but way too much sauce!! Agree with recommendations to make one-third the sauce. I tossed it all together and refrigerated. Would make again
ltrixie
I have steamed and boil cauliflower prior to roasting, and I feel that boiling is so much easier. I got perfectly crispy and roasted broccoli out of the oven. The tahini sauce is amazing and I'm going to put it on everything.
Morgan from NJ
Loved this. I added cumin and red wine vinegar to the dressing and golden raisins (for sweetness), radishes (for crunch and a bite), and pistachios (just cause) to the finished product. Came out great!
Deborah
I roast the cauliflower checking for doneness periodically and it works fine (usually trim it to make smaller florets); much easier
Anne-Marie
This is a tasty little sauce - and Whole 30 friendly!
aa
Excellent sauce for any veg. It makes way to much. I cut in half and split with Karen what was leftover.
Hannah
Love this recipe! Used the rest of the tahini to make a coleslaw the next night. It was pretty bitter, so I added 2 tbsp of agave, though I know some recipes even call for maple syrup. 30 min at 450 was the perfect crisp edge!
Leslie
Like many of you, I skipped the blanching and simply roasted it with EVOO & salt/pepper. The sauce was excellent (though took more water to make it the day sauce consistency). WAY too much sauce for a large cauliflower head (although tasted excellent!!), So cut by at least half
fix the sauce
.5 cup chopped parsley 3 lemons 1 cup of water
Till
Must use Stephen's double sheet-pan technique, no boiling cauli. Halve sauce only if you won't be using it on everything imaginable. Tone down raw garlic by grating 2 cloves, add lemon juice & salt, let sit for the second round of sheet pan roasting, and then add tahini. Use fork to stir as it seizes up, then add water to thin out to desired consistency, add oodles of fresh parsley.
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