Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks
These Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks are packed full of flavour. They’re perfect served on a bed of preserved lemon couscous or hummus.
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What is Harissa?
Harissa is a hot chilli pepper paste made from roasted red peppers, chilli peppers, and a range of spices and herbs such as garlic, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, cumin and olive oil. Some varieties are also made with rose for a fragrant flavour profile.
It’s great for adding a smokey heat to a wide range of recipes, including these cauliflower steaks.
You can of course make your own but it’s absolutely fine to use store bought. Most supermarkets stock it in their international food aisle along with other ingredients like preserved lemons.
What are Cauliflower Steaks?
Cauliflower are big slices of cauliflower that are either grilled or roasted to make them tender like a steak.
It’s easy to cook cauliflower steaks. In fact, the hardest part is cutting the cauliflower into thick steaks, especially if your cauliflower is quite small. When choosing your cauliflower you will want a large cauliflower, that has quite a close, dense structure with plenty of stem. This will make sure the florets stay connected and don’t fall apart.
How do you make Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks?
To cut the cauliflower steaks:
- Pull off the largest of leaves (these can be eaten and are great in stir fries! Small leaves can be left on as they get nice and crispy.)
- Place the cauliflower stem down on your chopping board and slice the cauliflower in half.
- Cut each halve into slices roughly 2cm or 1 inch thick.
To roast the cauliflower steaks in this recipe, all you have to do is brush them with the harissa, place them on to a baking tray and then roast until they are crispy around the edges and tender in the middle.
The recipe
Harissa Spiced Caulifower Steaks
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower sliced into thick steaks
- 8 tbsp harissa paste
- sea salt flakes to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 220 C / 428 F /gas 7.
- Cut the cauliflower into 4 steaks roughly 2cm (1 inch) thick. (If you can’t get 4 steaks roast the florets as they are.)
- Brush both sides of the cualiflower steaks with the harissa (roughly 1 tbsp of harissa per side) and season well.
- Place them on to a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes or until the edges start to turn brown, flip them over and roast for another 20 minutes.
- Serve with hummus and preserved lemon couscous.
Nutrition
More cauliflower recipes
Here are some more suggestions for using the humble cauliflower.
More vegan recipes
If you want to try more vegan recipes, check out the vegan recipe archive.