michelle picker cooks

Cauliflower has found new popularity for good reason. Here it’s roasted, leaves and all, with Middle Eastern flavours and served with tahini sauce.

Wash and cut your cauliflower into quarters. Place them in a lightly oiled oven tray and drizzle with olive oil, rubbing it all over every surface. Sprinkle with salt, ground cumin, sumac and cayenne pepper to taste. Roast in a hot oven for 45 – 60 minutes until the cauliflower is just soft enough to eat and charred around the edges. Meanwhile combine some tahini with lemon juice, a little salt, a clove of crushed garlic and enough water to make a good sauce consistency. Serve hot.

This tomato salad, adapted from a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe, makes a good accompaniment.

Peel and slice 1 large shallot into rounds and combine it in a small bowl with ⅛ of a teaspoon of salt, 1½ tablespoons of sumac and 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar. Mix together with your hands so the sumac gets massaged into the shallots and set aside for 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare your tomatoes. Mine were all one size but if you have a good mixture of tomatoes cut them into similar sizes and put them in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 15g of dill leaves, ⅓ of a teaspoon of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Toss gently to combine. Now toast 25g or more of pine nuts until just golden and set aside. When you’re ready to serve arrange the tomatoes in your serving dish and spread the shallots over the top. Scatter with pine nuts and garnish with more fresh dill.