Easy and delicious: whole roasted cauliflower with sweet tahini, cilantro, dried cranberries and cashews
A whole roasted cauliflower smothered in a sweet tahini sauce on a bed of herby greens, cashews and dried cranberries. Clean, stunning and delicious.
As a health and lifestyle coach, I’m often asked about how to approach parties, dining out, enjoying meals with friends etc. when on a mission to lose weight.
Are you supposed to hibernate until the weight’s off? Stick to salads while everyone else enjoys the rest of the menu? Subject yourself to unsolicited advice or comments from friends and family about your personal journey?
Feeling restricted because of your goals when all you want to do is enjoy yourself is the pits. I’ve been there, I know. It is one very big reason why I started my blog and began working with clients directly to design and share clean and satisfying dishes and food habits to help people reach their goals without feeling like they’re constantly at odds with their plate.
I have a client who loves to entertain and is very joyous about food. She’s also trying to lose weight. For an upcoming dinner party she was hosting, she asked me to design a menu of clean, plant-based dishes she could serve. She was very specific: flavor could not be sacrificed and she wanted to stick with the parameters of her weight loss plan, which involves a non-dairy, plant-based, minimal sugar diet.
Shame, guilt, worrying about setbacks were not on the menu.
I was thrilled when she asked me to do this, because it would help me reinforce to her that eating doesn’t have to suck when you’re trying to lose weight. We talked about focusing on seasonal vegetable dishes to excite her guests, leaning into herbs to keep things light yet flavorful, cooking with digestive spices to prevent bloat, promote elimination and feel good physically, creating low or no sugar cocktails and much more.
The menu included some classic dishes I’ve designed like immune boosting ginger potato leek soup, simple spiced lentils and a mediterranean beet slaw, along with several new custom dishes as well.
My absolute favorite of the bunch was this whole roasted cauliflower situation I’m sharing here today.
Steamed, whole roasted, with simple spices and a wee bit of avocado oil, smothered in a light and sweet cumin maple tahini, and placed on a bed of herbs with plump cranberries and cashews.
It is incredible, you guys. My mouth waters just writing about it!
Keep scrolling for everything you need to know - health perks, tips, and the whole damn recipe.
Health Perks
It is prepared using proper food combining principals, to optimize digestion and energy and prevent bloat, gas and discomfort.
The entire dish is made using plant-based whole foods, which means none of it is processed or junky and it will help keep you full without all the yucky bloat that comes from foods that contains too much salt, oil or sugar.
Cauliflower is incredibly nutrient dense and naturally high in fiber and B vitamins. Being a cruciferous, high fiber vegetable that’s also low in calories, makes it an ideal vegetable for weight loss and maintenance as it will keep you fill and help with elimination.
While the recipe calls for oil, it is very minimal (1-2 tbsp for the entire dish, which is 2-4 servings).
It contains zero refined sugar; only a tablespoon of maple syrup is used in the sauce/dressing and the cranberries are unsweetened and used mostly for garnish purposes.
Tahini, which is the base of the sauce/dressing, is full of health benefits. A great source of healthy fats and omega 3 to help lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation, as well as protein, B vitamins and iron. As far as health benefits go it’s my favorite nut/seed butter.
It includes cilantro, which, despite being a polarizing herb in terms of taste, happens to be insanely good for you. It’s been used medicinally since ancient times, and is believed to improved brain health, lower blood sugar, is rich in immune-boosting antioxidants and can improve digestion and promote better gut health. Go cilantro, go!
Other Thoughts, Tips and Suggestions
This is a very easy and hands off kind of dish. That said, it’s very important to follow all of the steps laid out below because it’s also very easy to mess up. For instance, you must steam it before roasting otherwise you’re going to have a crispy cauliflower that’s hard on the inside, and well, inedible.
Coat the cauliflower in paprika before roasting. It gives it the perfect color. Don’t skip this step!
Include herbs. If you’re not into cilantro, try another kind of fresh herb like dill or parsley.
Soak your dried cranberries (raisins work well too) in warm water. It makes them plump, soft and juicy. 10/10 recommend doing this.
Use a bit of salt at every stage - when coating the cauliflower prior to roasting, another pinch after roasting and then some again in the tahini sauce. Too much salt can destroy a dish, but a little bit of it at every stage in the cooking process will help intensify aroma, and balance and enhance the flavor. This is especially the case when cooking vegetables.
Check out the full recipe below. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower in a Sweet Tahini Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45-60 minutes | Yields: roughly 4 servings
Ingredients:
(For the cauliflower):
1 head of cauliflower, trim leaves and cut core so cauliflower can stand upright.
1-2 tbsp avocado oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tsp mineral salt, used throughout cooking process
Black pepper, to taste
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews
1/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
(For the dressing):
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 cup raw tahini (sesame butter)
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mineral salt
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
First, steam your cauliflower. Place a steamer basket inside a large saucepan filled with a few inches of water. Bring to a boil. Place the cauliflower on the steamer basket, cover and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Next, roast your cauliflower. Remove from the sauce pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a small mixing bowl, combine avocado oil, paprika, some salt and pepper. Brush all over the outside of the cauliflower. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes (or
Then, prepare your sauce. While the cauliflower is roasting, prep your sauce in a medium bowl, whisk tahini, water (to make sauce pourable), maple, garlic salt and cumin seeds until well combined.
Remove cauliflower from oven, let cool. Then, place the cauliflower on a rimmed plate or shallow bowl. Arrange the cilantro around the cauliflower. Begin to drizzle the tahini (you will have some leftover - use it as dip) over the cauliflower. Sprinkle the cashews and cranberries on top and around the cauliflower, on top of the cilantro.
Serve warm and enjoy!
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