veg-out bowl: roasted cauliflower over kale & fennel with garlicky tahini dressing

veg out bowl | everybody likes sandwiches

Roasted cauliflower over sautéed kale & fennel over farro is a bit of a mouthful (albeit a tasty one) but it’s the kind of meal that I make often around here. Usually, I just sauté some vegetables and serve it over a grain and calling it a day. This time, as I was chopping up my vegetables I really wanted to roast the head of cauliflower that I had before me. Everybody knows that roasted cauliflower is THE BEST way to eat cauliflower ever. So I decided to put aside the kale, red onions and fennel and move along to the star attraction.

veg out bowl | everybody likes sandwiches

Instead of breaking the cauliflower into florets, I sliced them into 1/2 inch pieces. This gives cauliflower more opportunities to get that lovely caramelization when in the oven. The slices then get lightly tossed with lemon juice, spices and garlic, then spread onto a baking sheet and banged into the oven until toasty. And because I couldn’t leave a good thing alone, I sprinkled a little grated Parmesan cheese over top to get crisp. Hubba hubba.

veg out bowl | everybody likes sandwiches

I cooked up a little farro (but any grain will do) to provide a base for this meal. The sautéed veg get heaped on top, followed by the roasted cauliflower. A light drizzle of a garlicky, lemony, tahini sauce and dinner is ready. If this is fall, I’ll gladly have seconds.

veg out bowl | everybody likes sandwiches

And if you’re looking for a little autumn treat, head over to Poppytalk where I make one mean applesauce cake filled with nuts, dried fruit and a little drizzle of bourbon. Oh yeah.

veg out bowl | everybody likes sandwiches

13 comments to “veg-out bowl: roasted cauliflower over kale & fennel with garlicky tahini dressing”

  1. 1
    Elliott   November 22, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    I seriously am going to make this dish tonight. It looks amazing. DROOLING.

  2. 2
    Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar   November 22, 2013 at 3:54 pm

    This is a total bowl of comfort! Yum!!

  3. 3
    Robert F   November 22, 2013 at 7:17 pm

    I made this and it was fantastic. I think quinoa worked really well as the grain, it has a fairly neutral taste and everything else in the recipe is so nicely roasted and pungent. I used a full teaspoon of Aleppo pepper ’cause it’s less intense than crushed red chili pepper, and hey, I’ll be restocking the Aleppo when I get back to Istanbul in January.

    The cauliflower didn’t caramelize for me, probably because the old crop of lemons in my backyard are now so large and I’m guessing that the extra lemon juice diluted the oil in the dressing for the cauliflower. So half a monster lemon next time.

    But none of that matters. This is a really excellent flavor combination and it will become another ELS favorite. Thanks for taking the time to document and share this recipe.

  4. 4
    Joanne   November 23, 2013 at 4:25 am

    This autumnal roasted veg bowl sounds absolutely lovely! Especially the dressing. Tahini-based ones are pretty much always tasty.

  5. 5
    Nicole   November 26, 2013 at 8:01 am

    I love good caramelization, so I don’t think you went overboard at all. I love the sound of the garlicky tahini dressing, too. Yum!

  6. 6
    kickpleat   November 26, 2013 at 7:47 pm

    Thanks Elliott, I hope you gave it a try! I’m curious what you thought 🙂

    Indeed, Katrina.

    Hi Robert!! So glad you enjoyed this one. I think I left the cauliflower in for an extra long time but clearly there was no harm done. I’m jealous of your mondo lemons!

    Joanne, I love tahini based dressings. A new classic 🙂

    Thanks Nicole, it was a great meal.

  7. 7
    JoanneM   December 2, 2013 at 9:47 am

    Hurray for tahini dressings! I’ve always relied on your tahini dressing to make my salads at work (and home) extra special. I have a head of cauliflower and some baby kale in the fridge and everything else on your list except for the fennel bulb. Oh well, it’s still going to be tasty, I just know it!!

  8. 8
    Jennifer Andrews   December 3, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    This dish looks so comforting and flavourful. My husband makes fun of me for always “burning” cauliflower when I roast it, but it really tastes so good charred like that!

  9. 9
    kickpleat   December 5, 2013 at 9:12 am

    Glad to hear it, JoanneM 🙂 Tahini dressings are the best, IMO! Hope you enjoyed dinner!

    Thanks Jennifer – nothing wrong with a little charred cauliflower 🙂 Enjoy!

  10. 10
    Ryan   January 21, 2014 at 8:23 am

    I made a variation on this for dinner last night! Instead of a tahini dressing, I made a chinese soy sauce/xo sauce dressing thing, I didn’t use fennel, and I added some thinly diced, fried eggplant. It was very different from what you have posted here, but it was very tasty. Next time, I mean to stick to your recipe. 😛

  11. 11
    kickpleat   January 22, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    Ryan, sounds good! Recipes are always a good place to start playing, so glad you enjoyed it!

  12. 12
    Robert F   December 11, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    Still a great dish. The directions for the dressing do not include the half lemon. And while I’m being all picky, you might want to say “Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion, kale, and fennel.”

  13. 13
    kickpleat   December 12, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    Robert, you are the best editor. Thanks, I’ve made the changes 🙂 Glad you’re still loving this dish.

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