Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for roast cauliflower with harissa pilaf | Middle Eastern food and drink

Before I became a food writer, I ate a lot of roast cauliflower most weeks because I adore it. I love how the florets take on flavour and fat. I enjoy how the personality of the cauliflower pops out when you roast the bejesus out of it to reveal a caramel-like bitter sweetness. And I am a fan of how cheap and comforting it is. This recipe is a celebration of the roast cauliflower and, since the oven is on anyway, I’ve made a baked rice to go with it (credit to Yotam Ottolenghi for the technique) that is herby, nutty, hot with harissa and brought together with a thwack of lemon juice.

Roast cauliflower with harissa pilaf

The baked rice needs a tight foil lid for the steam to cook it, so don’t skimp on the time it takes to seal it properly.

Prep 15 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4

For the cauliflower
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 cauliflower (1.1kg), trimmed and cut into 4cm florets
6 tbsp sunflower oil – I like Mr Organic
2½ tsp ground cumin
2½ tsp ground kashmiri chilli
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp fine sea salt

For the rice
350g basmati rice, unwashed
4 tbsp sunflower oil
4 tbsp rose harissa paste
2cm x 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1½ tsp fine sea salt
1 lemon, juiced, to get 3 tbsp
20g mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
20g coriander, leaves and tender stems finely chopped
60g roasted cashews, finely chopped

Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. In a large baking dish, combine the finely sliced onion and cauliflower, then add the oil, spices and salt, and rub them in to coat everything well. Cover the dish tightly with foil, pressing all around the edges, then put to one side.

Put the rice, oil, harissa, ginger, salt and 700ml just-boiled water in a second large baking dish. Cover this with foil, too, sealing it well and pressing down all around the edges.

Bake both trays for 25 minutes, carefully turning them around once halfway through. Take both trays out of the oven and put the rice tray to one side, with its foil lid intact, and leave to rest. Take the foil off the cauliflower tray and return it to the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up.

After 10 minutes, take the foil off the rice, then tip the cauliflower and onion mixture all over the top. Pour over the lemon juice, sprinkle with the chopped herbs and cashews, and serve warm.