This obviously isn’t really a shawarma—there is no lamb and no fat—but it is a way of slow-cooking cauliflower that makes it feel substantial and tasty enough to warrant the association. When we have this on the menu in the restaurant, we use deep-fried purple cauliflower and boiled Italian Romesco cauliflower (the green one that looks like an alien), cooked in salt water, in addition to slow-roasted white cauliflower. The purple and green ones taste like regular cauliflower but add color and texture. They are not central to the success of the dish, but if you see either type in a farmers’ market and can’t resist buying them, this is not a bad way to use them.
Serves 2 as a main
1 medium cauliflower, leaves still attached
3 tbsp olive oil
3 generous tbsp baharat spice mix (here)
1 heaped tsp sea salt
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 lemon
scant ½ cup/125g tahini paste
a pinch of salt
½–¾ cup/100–130ml water
3 tbsp roasted pine nuts
1 tsp sumac (not essential)
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Place the whole cauliflower, leaves and all, in an ovenproof saucepan that fits it snugly. Fill the bottom of the pan with enough water to just cover the stem and leaves. Drizzle the oil all over the florets and sprinkle with the spice mix and sea salt—it will look like a lot, but you want a layer of spice as a crust. Place in the oven and roast for 1–1½ hours. You will know it is cooked when you can insert a small knife through the center of the cauliflower all the way down into the stem and it goes in easily.
While the cauliflower is cooking, place the sliced onions in a frying pan with the oil and salt and fry on a low heat until they start to soften and go golden. Add the sugar and continue cooking until the onions are caramelized and brown. Remove from the heat.
Halve the lemon. Mix the tahini paste in a small bowl with the juice from one half of the lemon and the salt. Add 100ml of water (a little less than half a cup) and mix well. Continue mixing and adding water very slowly until the paste loosens to a creamy texture.
Carefully lift the cooked cauliflower out of the water and cut it into thick slices, including the stem and the leaves, which will taste great after the slow-cooking. Divide the cauliflower between two plates. Squeeze the juice from the remaining half of the lemon all over, then top with the caramelized onions and tahini paste. Garnish with the pine nuts and the sumac (if using) and serve with the crispy flat bread.