Cauliflower in Tahini Sauce

The start of the cauliflower season prompted me to write today about a very simple yet delicious cauliflower dish. It comes from Lebanese cuisine. I have made it quite often ever since I tried it first at my friend's the past summer. Almost everyone who tasted it complemented an interesting and unusual combination of cauliflower and tahini. I have been often asked for the recipe, which I share today.

The whole secret of the dish lies in the right combination of the tahini sauce ingredients. The sauce should be not too thick and rather tart in taste to contrast the mild taste of the cauliflower. Cauliflower can be cooked or roasted, and it can be just white or, in one of the now fashionable yellow or purple color to make it more fancy.

I make this dish often just as a lunch dish and eat it with pita bread, but it can also be served as a side dish to accompany grilled meats.



Cauliflower in Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:
1 large cauliflower,
4 tbsps tahini paste (available at Middle Eastern groceries),
3-4 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice,
1 garlic clove, minced,
salt and pepper to taste,
fresh chopped parsley.

Preparation:
1. Cook cauliflower until soft but still firm. Drain.
2. Pour tahini paste in a medium bowl. Add 4 tbsps of water, then start adding lemon juice, alternating with more water to obtain a creamy sauce with the consistency of a heavy whipping cream. Add minced garlic and season with salt and pepper.



3. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and finish with chopped parsley.

Round Zucchinis Roasted with Gorgonzola and Walnuts

Fresh zucchinis, even those late fall ones are so perfect that they do not require much cooking. Just sliced and lightly fried in olive oil with herbs can be absolutely delicious. And today's recipe is based on this idea. It came to me when I found in refrigerator a piece of leftover Gorgonzola cheese that had to be used rather fast. I decided to use it with round zucchinis I bought at Friday market.

I also made a tomato sauce from fresh, barely cooked, tomatoes. Then I cut the zucchinis, baked them, and finished them with the cheese-walnut stuffing. A simple yet delicious fall dish was ready.



Round Zucchinis Baked with Blue Cheese and Walnuts
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:
6 small round zucchinis,
2 large heirloom tomatoes,
1 small onion, chopped,
2 tbsp olive oil,
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese,
2 tbsp chopped walnuts,
1/3 cup flat leaves parsley, chopped,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Blanch the tomatoes in hot water for a minute. Cool, remove the skins, and cut into small cubes.
2. In a frying pan heat 2 tbsp of oil and fry onion until soft. Add chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, mix. Spread the sauce on the bottom of an oven dish large enough to contain zucchinis.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
4. Cut off the tops of the zucchinis and cut each into eight quarters not going completely to the bottom so the zucchinis keep their form. Place them on the sauce and sprinkle the tops with with salt.



5. Bake the zucchinis for about 20 minutes until their tops are slightly transparent.
6. Mix crumbled cheese with chopped walnuts and parsley and divide between zucchinis pushing the stuffing gently inside. Season with pepper.
7. Bake the zucchinis for another 10 minutes, until the cheese melts.
Serve with fresh baguette.