Hummus topped with spiced Cauliflower
Homemade hummus is such a breeze to make and it taste way better than store bought ones. I might sound arrogant but its difficult to find a nice store-bought brand. And I love hummus so much.
It makes a good snack and it also makes good side for other dishes. Sometimes, I love to have hummus with lots of crudités for a light lunch. It really fills you up and how healthy it is.
There are so many ways to make hummus. I love when people make it colorful and beautiful hummus recipes. I never shared a good easy hummus recipe and I just wanted to share that today with you all.
In recent years I have appreciated Israeli cuisine so much. They use so many fresh ingredients and has so many vegetarian options. Few years ago, we went to NOLA and we tried dinner at the famous Shaya restaurant, and we had ordered hummus with cauliflower and we loved it so much, that I came back and created similar hummus plate.
They put fried cauliflower bits, but I wanted to give it some flavor. I would have used curry powder, but I happen to have ‘ras el hanout’ spice mix. I am big time spice hoarder. I tried to roast cauliflower in the oven and then tossed them in the ras el hanout mix with olive oil. It was so delicious. So, I made it again for a light dinner and decided to share the easy recipe with you all.
Ras el hanout is easily available at whole foods, world market, or any specialty spice stores. It is a North African spice blend. It contains a lot spices like cardamom, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander seeds, peppercorns, fenugreek, paprika, dry turmeric etc. Just the way, garam masala is different flavors family to family, this can also be different in taste. You can easily use it for other dishes too, Moroccan tagine, chickpeas, can be used as rub for fish or meat.
Its not a spicy blend. Its extremely flavorful. I absolutely love it.
I have shared two ways to roast cauliflower. You can try either ways. Any spice blend in order for it to taste better has to be bloomed in hot oil. Therefore, I shared the stove top method.
But, if you decide to roast the cauliflower in the oven, make sure you cook it until it softens up and has browned enough. Then, on medium heat in small pan, heat some olive oil and once warm add the ras el hanout spice, stir it for just few seconds. Turn off and toss roasted cauliflower florets. Dry spices can burn on high heat so be careful or you will have to start over.
All that extra oil you roasted cauliflower bits can be drizzled over hummus. Don’t forget that.
Hummus with spiced Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ cup cauliflower florets
- 1 tsp ras el hanout or curry powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups boiled chickpeas
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp Tahini
- Juice of Half lemon
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp honey
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Olive oil
- Pine nuts
- Sumac
- Parsley
Instructions
- To roast cauliflower, take olive oil in a pan on medium high heat and add cauliflower florets. Roast it until you see some browning spots and they are cooked thoroughly. It will take 10 mins. Add salt and ras el hanout or curry powder whatever you are using. Mix and once cauliflower is cooked, and the spice mix coats the florets. Remove them. (you can do this step in the oven, but you must bloom the spice powder in oil on stove top. Roast the cauliflower in the oven at 375 F for 10-15 mins and toss the cauliflower to bloomed oil spice mix until everything is coated).
- Take boiled chickpeas, garlic cloves, tahini, honey and salt, pulse it in a food processor until it resembles a smooth mix. Add about 3-4 tbsp of liquid from the chickpeas reserved while boiling. Add, lemon and olive oil, pulse once to combine.
- Remove it in a bowl or platter. Make a little swoosh. Pour some olive oil, place roasted cauliflower in the middle or on one side. Sprinkle sumac, pine nuts and chopped parsley.
- Garnishes are optional.
XO, Devangi