This is my most popular warm salad and one of my top well loved dishes overall- it really checks all of the boxes. I developed this one at the start of 2021, and am finally getting a proper recipe posted here on the blog. Shawarma Spiced Roasted Cauliflower and Crispy Harissa Chickpeas with Feta, Dates and Labne. It’s a hearty vegetarian meal, packed with layers of flavor and nutrition. This gets showered with pan toasted pine nuts, cilantro, chives, jalapeño, sumac and a creamy tahini citrus dressing. This will have you licking the plate. I guarantee it!
Each step is very simple and flows efficiently creating divine layers of flavor. *If you don’t have Meyer lemon, add a tiny splash of orange juice to your lemon juice.
This yields roughly 4 servings, but 2 of us when hungry, have no trouble polishing off the entire thing
Ingredients-
1/4 c olive oil, divided
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 can chick peas, drained (you may also cook your own)
1/4 cup tahini, plus equal amount water
1 (Meyer) lemon
1-2 tsp shawarma seasoning (I like NY Shuk)
1 Tbs Harissa
Pinch smoked paprika
1 tsp ketchup
1/2 tsp soy sauce
3-4 large pitted medjool dates, chopped
4 oz crumbled feta
2 heaping Tbs pine nuts
6 oz labne or full fat Greek yogurt
For garnish:
Cilantro
Sliced jalapeño
Chives or scallion
Pinch or two of sumac
Additional olive oil to drizzle, optional
Method-
1- preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment
2- in a large bowl, toss florets with about 2 Tbs olive oil and season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Roast for 15 minutes
3- while florets are cooking, whisk tahini with equal amount of water and juice of half the Meyer lemon (or half lemon and splash of oj) until creamy, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
4- remove florets from oven and carefully place hot florets back into the bowl and toss with shawarma. Return to oven for another 15 minutes or so or until edges brown a bit. Turn oven off, but keep door closed to retain heat
5- while florets are in the oven for their second round, preheat a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Dry drained chick peas on a clean dish towel, or paper towels to remove all excess moisture (this step is necessary for them to crisp). Whisk together Harissa, pinch smoked paprika, squeeze of lemon, tsp of ketchup, dash soy sauce, s&p.
add dried chick peas to a preheated pan and, over med/high heat with some olive oil, stir around until skin begin to blister then add harissa mixture and stir until well coated and skins become crispy, about 5 mins. Adjust heat as needed to avoid burning. Remove from heat. Allow pan to sit over very low heat as you’ll be adding pine nuts in a minute.
6- toss crispy chick peas on baking sheet with cauliflower with chopped pitted dates and crumbled feta. Return to hot oven for about 5 minutes to warm dates and feta and allow flavors to meld.
7- add pine nuts to warm pan with a touch more olive oil and toast over low heat for about 2 mins until golden.
8- pile all on top of a bed of labne and garnish with the pine nuts, cilantro, sliced jalapeño, chives, sumac and the tahini dressing.
Serve with warm pita, couscous…
*if you’re really pressed for time, season cauliflower with the shawarma seasoning when it first goes into the oven and cook until edges begin to brown, about 25-30 mins.
*You can make tahini dressing and pan toasted pine nuts a day in advance.
*you can assemble salad and skip the last few minutes in the oven, but the slightly warmed feta is a nice touch.
