Roasted Cauliflower Shawarma

with a creamy lemon avocado tahini dipping sauce

What’s Shawarma?

If you’re not familiar with Shawarma, shawarma is a Mediterranean “pocket” sandwich with roasted sliced spiced meat seasoned with turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, cloves and other lovely Mediterranean spices (recipes vary), often served in a pita with some kind of veggies and a yogurt sauce. It’s similar to a gyro, with some different spices. I’ve made two versions of shawarma in the past: crockpot chicken shawarma and venison (or beef) shawarma. Both were fabulous, but personally I think I preferred the venison version.

But now I’m trying to fit more cruciferous veggies, turmeric and ginger into my diet (in hopes of lowering my cholesterol), so I had the brilliant idea to try a cauliflower shawarma. I mean, people use cauliflower in place of chicken for other things … why couldn’t cauliflower replace the meat for a shawarma?

I did a quick search on google and discovered that (of course) I wasn’t the first person to think of this. I found lots of really lovely recipes for cauliflower shawarma, some roasting up the whole head of cauliflower, some with the cauliflower cut into thick “steaks” … and some that did florets, like I did. I originally had planned to do cauliflower steaks, since that seemed more substantial than the little florets, but then I thought back on the roasted cauliflower I’ve made in the past and I loved it so much … I just had to do it like that. I already had a lemon tahini yogurt sauce recipe that I loved, but I blended in some avocado too, partly because I love avocado and partly because avocado is also so good for your heart.

My cauliflower never made it to a sandwich, because once I tasted it I couldn’t stop munching on it! It was soooo freaking good. Especially with the dipping sauce and the crispy onions. The pieces of seasoned cauliflower get so nice and crisp, with little browned bits that are freaking addictive.

I think it’s quite all right with me that this cauliflower shawarma never became a sandwich, though, because I really don’t need any more carbs in my diet. Yes, I’ve welcomed bread back on occasion (oh my gosh I missed the BREAD) … but I am still trying to stay pretty low carb/high fiber so perhaps snacking on cauliflower was way better than making a sandwich out of it. Feel free to do that, though, if you are so inclined! This cauliflower shawarma would be lovely on a pita with the sauce, plus some cucumbers and tomatoes, or maybe some mango or sweet pepper slices.

I used the shawarma seasoning mix from my chicken shawarma recipe so if you want to pop over and whip up a batch of this amazing Mediterranean spice mix for yourself, here’s the recipe … or you can use a store bought version or here’s another recipe for shawarma spice from Minimalist Baker that looks really good.

Roasted Cauliflower Shawarma

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 2 - 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 – 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons Shawarma Seasoning
• 1 head of cauliflower, cored and broken into small florets
• 1 red onion, peeled & sliced thin
• Salt

For the lemon avocado tahini dipping sauce:

• Zest & juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 – 2 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped fine
• 1/2 of a ripe avocado
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon tahini
• 1 Tablespoon light mayo
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• A pinch of dill
• 2 – 3 Tablespoons milk

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Cut the cauliflower into florets. In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil with the shawarma seasoning. In a large bowl, toss the spiced oil with the cauliflower to coat all the pieces. Sprinkle lightly with salt and toss again. Spread the cauliflower onto a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle the onions over and set in the oven.
2. Roast at 450 F. for 10 – 15 minutes or until the bottom of the cauliflower is nicely browned, then stir (or turn) the cauliflower and return to the oven to roast again for 5 – 10 minutes more or until the cauliflower is crispy and browned on the edges and the onions are browned.
3. While the cauliflower is cooking, put all the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a mini food processor or small blender cup and blend until smooth, adding milk as needed to thin to the desired consistency.
4. Remove from heat and serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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