Rosie Kellett’s Harissa Roast Cauliflower

A cook and writer, Rosie Kellett documents communal living from her shared warehouse in London, where cooking big group suppers has become a joyful part of everyday life. To celebrate ‘Friendsgiving’, Rosie took the Warehouse to Wales to slow the pace and make special memories together — all over a delicious feast of course. Read on for Rosie’s whole-roast harissa cauliflower — the perfect centrepiece for your next dinner party.

The beauty of this meal is that it’s very adaptable. For our friendsgiving feast, I used the same marinade on a whole chicken for the meat eaters, which meant we were eating the same meal, just with a different protein. It was such a joy, and made cooking for 10 feel effortless!

Serves 4-6

For the cauliflower:

  • 1 x large cauliflower, leaves trimmed
  • 50g good quality harissa, I like Lamiri
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 100 ml olive oil
  • 1 tbsp light brown sugar

For the tahini dressing:

  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 x garlic clove
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • A few tablespoons of iced water

To serve:

  • 200g pomegranate seeds
  • A small bunch of soft herbs, roughly chopped, such as parsley, dill and mint
  • Flatbreads or cous cous

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200c
  2. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the whole cauliflower and boil for 3 minutes.
  3. Remove the cauliflower and set to one side while you make the marinade.
  4. Simply whisk together all the remaining ingredients for the marinade, and once the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, slather it in the marinade, massaging it right into all the crevices of the vegetable.
  5. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes, basting halfway through.
  6. To make the tahini dressing, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice and garlic, then whisk in 1 tbsp of iced water and keep adding water until you reach your desired consistency. I like mine to be the thickness of double cream, saucy but not too watery.
  7. To assemble, take a large platter and add two thirds of the tahini sauce to the bottom, add the whole cauliflower and drizzle the remaining third of tahini over the top, sprinkling over the pomegranate seeds and soft herbs to finish.
  8. Serve with flatbreads or couscous.