Cauliflower "Muhammara"

I love making muhammara. My favorite recipe for muhammara is from – big surprise – Yotam Ottolenghi. Muhammara is typically made with roasted red peppers, crushed in a mortar and pestle, blended with other ingredients.

I was out of red peppers, but had a head of cauliflower, and was craving muhammara, so I started to experiment. I used a lot of paprika (which is made from red peppers) to mimic the red pepper flavor, and added a touch of maple syrup since red peppers are sweeter than cauliflower.

The result was pretty good in flavor, but a bit pastier than traditional muhammara. It certainly works in a pinch, and could be the basis for an entirely new dip!

Ingredients

For the Cauliflower

• One head of cauliflower (about 1.25 lbs.)
• 6T paprika
• 4T olive oil
• 1T maple syrup

For the Dip

• 4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin
• 2t salt
• 2t Aleppo pepper
• 100g breadcrumbs (3/4 cup)
• 2T lemon juice
• 1 cup walnuts

Process

1. Break or cut the cauliflower into florets.
2. Toss the cauliflower in a bowl with the paprika, olive oil and maple syrup. Toss the cauliflower in the bowl, using your hands, and massage the paste into the cauliflower for a couple of minutes. You want as much to get into/onto the cauliflower as possible.
3. Roast, on an uncrowded sheet pan, in an oven set at 425F (220C), for 20-30 minutes until quite soft.
4. Combine the cauliflower and the rest of the ingredients (except the walnuts) in a food processor. Pulse until the texture is consistent, but still a bit rough. You can add a bit of water if necessary (1T at a time) to make it thinner.
5. Add more lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, salt, or Aleppo pepper to taste. It should have a fairly strong flavor.
6. Using your hands or a knife, roughly chop the walnuts, then fold into the mixture.
7. Drizzle with olive oil on top and serve!