This fun, family-friendly dinner is a vegetarian version of the traditional Middle Eastern Shawarma. Marinated cauliflower that has been roasted till nutty perfection is used instead of the more traditional rotisserie meat.
This recipe may look intimidating with its many steps and long ingredient list, however many components can be prepped in advance and don’t take very long. The pickled onions can be made weeks in advance and are a really great thing to have in the fridge to liven up all sorts of other meals. The tzatziki can be made a day in advance but it will get looser the longer it is left to stand as the moisture will begin to draw out of the cucumber.
If you haven’t got Ras El Hanout on your spice rack, substitute by using equal parts paprika, coriander and ginger. The best kind of chilli sauce to use here is a kebab shop-style chilli sauce which is usually very garlicky with a good tang of vinegar and fresh tomatoes. A fermented hot sauce such as Sriracha would work.
Don’t feel as if you should just stick to my fillings, you could fill your wraps with hummus, garlic mayonnaise, pickled kebab-style chilli peppers, tahini, fried haloumi or even french fries.
Cauliflower Shawarma
Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: Middle EasternDifficulty: Medium4
servings10
minutes40
minutesThis recipe may look intimidating with its many steps and long ingredient list, however many components can be prepped in advance and don’t take very long.
Ingredients
- Pickled Red Onions
1 medium red onion
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
- Tzatziki
150 g Greek yoghurt
1/2 cucumber, deseeded and coursley grated
20 g fresh mint, chopped
1/2 garlic clove, finely grated or minced
- Cauliflower
1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Ras el Hanout
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt
- Flatbread
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nigella or cumin seeds
pinch sea salt
- Fillings
salad leaves such as rocket or shredded iceberg lettuce
2 ripe tomatoes, finely sliced
1/2 cucumber, deseeded and sliced into 1 cm-thick crescents
chilli sauce
Directions
- Pickled Red Onions
- Finely slice the red onions using either a mandoline or knife, ensuring that the slices ares as even as possible.
- Whisk the vinegars, sugar and salt together until the sugar has dissolved. Place the sliced onions and coriander seeds into a jar then pour over the vinegar mixture and allow to marinate for at least an hour but preferably longer before using.
- Tzatziki
- Mix together the greek yoghurt, grated cucumber, chopped mint and minced garlic. Taste and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to season.
- Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the cauliflower florets in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle over the Ras el Hanout, chilli flakes and sea salt. Gently toss with your hands until the cauliflower is well coated, transfer to a roasting tin. Don’t overcrowd the tin or the cauliflower won’t have a chance to brown properly – you may have to distribute amongst two tins. Roast for around 45 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and nicely charred around the edges. Remove from the oven.
- Flatbread
- Whilst the cauliflower is roasting, make the flatbread. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yogurt, baking powder, seeds and salt. Then generously cover your hands in flour and bring the dough together, whilst still in the bowl.
- Dust a work surface with flour then tip the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for around a minute, adding more flour to your hands if it is still sticky. The aim here is just to bring it together. Dust the inside of the bowl you just used with flour then pop the dough back in, cover with a tea towel or plate and leave for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide into 4 roughly equal parts. You could do 6 if you wanted smaller flatbreads. Roll out each piece of dough using a rolling pin (or wine bottle), using plenty of flour to stop it sticking. I roll them to around the size of a side plate.
- Heat the pan to a medium-high heat and cook each side for around 1-2 minutes. Flip once when you see the first side beginning to bubble a little. Repeat till all the flatbreads are cooked.
- Assemble
- Spread the tzatziki along the middle of the flatbread then top with salad leaves, sliced tomato, cucumber, roasted cauliflower, pickled onions and chilli sauce to your preference.
