One of my favourite things to eat at Ottolenghi is the fried cauliflower with tahini. Naturally, when Mr. Ottolenghi shared this recipe via The Guardian, I was all over it. It’s not the easiest salad to make, but it is so worth the effort.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s fried cauliflower with tahini recipe

Ingredients

• 500ml sunflower oil
• 2 medium cauliflower heads, split into small florets, weighing 1kg in all
• 8 spring onions, each cut into three long segments
• 180g tahini paste
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 15g chopped parsley
• 15g chopped mint, plus more to finish
• 150g Greek yoghurt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp pomegranate molasses, plus more to finish
• Malden sea salt and black pepper
• Roughly 180ml water

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Lay in a few cauliflower florets at a time and cook for two to three minutes, turning so they colour evenly. Once golden-brown, transfer to a colander with a slotted spoon, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to drain. Repeat with the rest of the cauliflower. Next, fry the spring onions, also in batches, for a minute. Add to the cauliflower and leave to cool down.
2. Pour the tahini paste into a large mixing bowl and add the garlic, herbs, yoghurt, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and seasoning. Stir with a wooden spoon as you add the water. The tahini sauce will first thicken and then loosen up as you add water. Don’t add too much, just enough to get a thick yet smooth pourable consistency, a bit like honey.
3. Stir the cauliflower and onion into the tahini bowl, taste and adjust the seasoning. You may also want to add more lemon juice.
4. To serve, spoon into a serving bowl and finish with a few drops of pomegranate molasses and some mint.