Recipe: Melissa Hemsley’s Fried Chermoula Cauliflower

Ahead of this year’s Ideal Home Show in partnership with NatWest, chef Melissa Hemsley brings you this tender, tasty and vegan fried chermoula cauliflower recipe. We can’t wait to try this one out at home… 

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Recipe: Melissa Hemsley’s Fried Chermoula Cauliflower on Herby Bean Dip with Slaw

Serves 2, with leftovers

Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower, save the leaves (about 800g)
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil
• sea salt and black pepper

For the chermoula spice mix:

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• chilli flakes or 1/4 cayenne, to taste

For the herby bean dip: 

• 240g cooked white beans or chickpeas (1 x 400g tin, drained and rinsed)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 big handful of a mix of fresh parsley and coriander, leaves and stems roughly chopped separately
• extra virgin olive oil, to serve

For the slaw:

• 1/4 red cabbage (150g), finely shredded
• 1 green apple, cut into matchsticks
• 1 celery stick and leaves, sliced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp mustard

Essential kit 

You will need a food processor.

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Method

1. Preheat the oven to fan 220°C/Gas mark 9. Slice two 2–3cm thick steaks off the cauliflower and roughly chop the remaining cauliflower florets and the leaves, keeping them separate.
2. Mix together all the ingredients for the chermoula.
3. Put the cauliflower florets in a roasting tray with 1 tablespoon of the ghee or oil, half of the chermoula spice mix, sea salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15–20 minutes, adding the chopped cauliflower leaves halfway through and tossing everything together.
4. Melt the remaining ghee or oil in a large frying pan and fry the cauliflower steaks for 2 minutes on each side, then add the remaining spice mix and carefully turn again, coating the steaks in the spice. Cook for a further 2 minutes until just tender (you could now pop in the oven to keep warm).
5. Meanwhile, mix all the slaw ingredients together with the parsley and coriander leaves in a medium bowl and season to taste.
6. Blitz all the dip ingredients in a food processor with the parsley and coriander stems and taste for seasoning. Add 2–4 tablespoons cold water until nice and thick. Divide the green bean dip between the plates, drizzle with olive oil and top with the hot cauliflower steak and the florets and leaves. Serve the slaw on top or on the side.
7. Waste not: The dip is a delicious way to use up hardier parsley and coriander stems, saving the leaves for garnishing so there’s no waste, just like the cauliflower leaves. You could also make this with broccoli steaks, aubergine wedges or squash, sliced into half-moons. Fennel and carrot would also be great in the slaw.

The Ideal Home Show, in partnership with NatWest, the world’s longest running exhibition, will return to Olympia London from Friday 11th to Sunday 27th March 2022. Melissa Hemsley will be on the Eat & Drink Stage on Friday 11^th March. For more information and tickets, please visit idealhomeshow.co.uk

MORE RECIPES: Veganuary Recipe: Tahini Date Fridge Fudge by Hemsley + Hemsley / Recipe: Winter Fruit Pavlova / Recipe: Classic Crepe Suzette