Sheet Pan
Spice-Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts & Tahini Drizzle
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28 Reviews
Evie
October 10, 2022
I used fresh garlic and it came out great! Nice and spicy. Probably did roughly double to amount of lemon for the tahini sauce though. Served with bread and mujadara. Will make again!
Cathy W.
September 10, 2020
we didn't care for this at all. Perhaps my head of cauliflower was too small, but the cumin was waaaay to much. And the cayenne could have been reduced as well.
One and done for us.
One and done for us.
Shortrib
February 6, 2019
Delicious! I used broccoli and cauliflower. Broccoli roasts a bit faster. My advice is to make more veg than you think because it will disappear. And less sauce unless you want extra for the rest of the week!
Georgia S.
April 4, 2018
I'm sure you've found many great ways to use tahini, but I want to share my favorite: Tahini and honey. Mix equal parts (or less honey). The runny tahini and runny honey will react and turn into a very thick paste. Use like peanut butter on toast, or thin with water and drizzle over slices of bananas.
Margo
March 11, 2018
Surprised at the comment that tahini paste is expensive! Sesame seeds, grinder or mortar and pestle. Grind and that's that. The most expensive thing is the grinder or mortar and pestle. Sesame seeds are cheaper than chips.
Caroline
December 8, 2017
Tastes fine, but the sauce texture didn’t work for me. When I added water to thin it, instead it got grainy and thicker.
Celine R.
May 20, 2020
As an Egyptian, I can tell you the only way to make a good tahini sauce is by using your instincts.
Tahini, warm water, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and cumin. That’s all you need. For about 2 cups of tahini you need equal parts (or less) of water, about 2 lemons, a few tablespoons of vinegar and garlic and cumin to taste! And just keep tasting and adding things! And definitely salt and pepper.
If it was getting grainy and thick, add water and keep whisking/mixing until it’s the consistency you like! It will always be a grainy thick consistency before it relaxes into a smooth delicious sauce!
Hope that helps
Tahini, warm water, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and cumin. That’s all you need. For about 2 cups of tahini you need equal parts (or less) of water, about 2 lemons, a few tablespoons of vinegar and garlic and cumin to taste! And just keep tasting and adding things! And definitely salt and pepper.
If it was getting grainy and thick, add water and keep whisking/mixing until it’s the consistency you like! It will always be a grainy thick consistency before it relaxes into a smooth delicious sauce!
Hope that helps
Betty
December 3, 2017
This turned out well for us. I had to roast the cauliflower longer (double the time to get the tenderness I wanted. I reduced the tahini sauce by using about 1/3 cup tahini, 1/2 lemon, 1 clove garlic. Had no fresh garlic, unfortunately. We found the tahini sauce a little bitter, so added a little brown sugar. Results - excellent!
Jeff
November 19, 2017
This was great. Nice mix of spices and textures. It worked well in a cast iron skillet in the oven.
I used less than half of the suggested cayenne to not overwhelm it with heat. A full teaspoon of cayenne is usually a red flag for me.
I neglected to read the comments first, so I do have a huge quantity of tahini sauce now...which isn't a bad thing, but just unexpected. I will enjoy finding uses for it. You could easily make 1/4 of the suggested tahini sauce quantity and still have plenty left over.
I used less than half of the suggested cayenne to not overwhelm it with heat. A full teaspoon of cayenne is usually a red flag for me.
I neglected to read the comments first, so I do have a huge quantity of tahini sauce now...which isn't a bad thing, but just unexpected. I will enjoy finding uses for it. You could easily make 1/4 of the suggested tahini sauce quantity and still have plenty left over.
Alexandra W.
January 4, 2019
I unfortunately saw your comment too late and used the whole teaspoon of cayenne: way too much! In fact I would suggest it's an error in the recipe? I love spicy food, but this was almost inedible (I used a brand new jar of Whole Foods 365 cayenne pepper). I guess that's what happens with untested recipes?
PumpkinPi
September 4, 2017
This was great. Tip: if you cook it on convection bake, you don't have to toss the cauliflower midway. It roasts perfectly. Just lower the temp to 400F, and start watching it around the 30 min mark depending on the size of your florets. I added 1 Tbsp of tumeric, 1 more Tbsp of oil, and subbed tamari sunflower seeds so I wouldn't have to worry about roasting/burning pine nuts. Worked perfectly.
evktx
November 24, 2016
This is a winner. Probably the most popular side dish at Thanksgiving. I changed the spices some. I used half the cayenne and garlic, and added some smoked paprika. Btw, the sauce recipe makes a lot more than you need. I doubled the cauliflower but not the sauce, and we ate all the cauliflower but only used half the sauce. But both are delicious individually.
jess N.
November 12, 2016
i made this tonight---halved the sauce as commentators suggest. but i used vegetable stock instead of water for the sauce because i made way too much stock recently---i guess this made it super-delicious so we ended up just dumping all the sauce on the cauliflower. there was no polite and elegant drizzling…..this made it a kind of soupy curry dish. i know this wasn't the author's intention, but it was pretty amazing. i must recommend. (i also used a mix of gochugaru and cayenne. i was all over the place :P )
Leslie
April 15, 2016
This sounds wonderful! We used to go to an Italian restaurant on the upper East Side in NYC that served an amazing cauliflower dish with Parmesan, garlic and pepper. The restaurant was Il Vagabondo, and also featured an indoor bocce court! I have tried to replicate the dish many times, with near misses, but still yummy. Would love to get that original recipe.....?!?
Becky
February 9, 2016
I'm a little bit of a whimp when it comes to spice - so I used 1/4 tsp of the cayenne instead of a full tsp. It was still REALLY spicy - I was able to tolerate it, but even my husband, who loves spice, said it was intense. I also only used 1/4 of the tahini - so maybe more tahini helps cut the heat?! It was delicious though.
ghainskom
February 2, 2016
The cauliflower is YUMMY. Tje tahini sauce could be halved or even quartered. Had this with tortilla and sausages for lunch and it was great.
AKeyte
December 20, 2015
The cauliflower - MAGICAL. Like broccoli, it becomes a new and wonderful beast when roasted.
Halved the recipe for the tahini drizzle. I didn't quite like the tahini drizzle however. Next time I'll make a chimichurri to go with it, or just leave it as is, because it's great that way!
P.S. Don't toast the pine nuts too much beforehand. Some of mine became burnt, and the rest were dangerously close to burning, after the final 10 minutes in the oven.
Halved the recipe for the tahini drizzle. I didn't quite like the tahini drizzle however. Next time I'll make a chimichurri to go with it, or just leave it as is, because it's great that way!
P.S. Don't toast the pine nuts too much beforehand. Some of mine became burnt, and the rest were dangerously close to burning, after the final 10 minutes in the oven.
sohoeast
November 4, 2015
Made this tonight as a last minute thought. So good and easy!
Will add this recipe to my collection favorites.
Will add this recipe to my collection favorites.
Karl R.
September 18, 2015
Have made this twice and plan to again tonight—so good! The amount of tahini sauce yielded from the recipe is enough for a double batch of cauliflower or, as suggested, is great to have around for the week. We drizzled it over sweet potatoes and used it for dipping carrots and peppers too. I do think if you only wanted enough sauce for the recipe, you could get away with about 1/3.
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