Served with Pickled Radishes, Baby Spinach, Avocado, and Vegan Sriracha Mayo Sauce in Multigrain Pita Bread
You might be thinking...what the heck is skhug sauce? It is the hot sauce of choice in the Middle East, made from chili peppers, lots of cilantro, and various spices. It can be red or green, depending on the color of the peppers. For this recipe, I used green jalapeño peppers instead of chili peppers since that is what my dad and I had growing in our garden.
INGREDIENTS
CAULIFLOWER: 1 head of cauliflower, destemmed
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
SKHUG SAUCE: 4 jalapeños, seeded
1 cup fresh cilantro
½ cup fresh Italian parsley
4 garlic cloves, peeled
Zest of 2 limes
Juice of 2 limes
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cumin
SRIRACHA MAYO SAUCE: 4 tbsp Follow Your Heart Vegenaise
1 tbsp sriracha
½ tsp ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
CAULIFLOWER:
In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sea salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Place the destemmed head of cauliflower into a 9”x9” baking pan. Pour the olive oil mixture over the cauliflower. Be sure to rub the mixture thoroughly over the entire head, including underneath where the stem has been removed. Allow to sit for at least an hour or overnight to allow the mixture to absorb into the cauliflower.
Heat an oven to 400°F. When the oven is fully heated, cook the cauliflower 45 minutes to an hour, basting every 15-20 minutes with the drippings in the pan. The cauliflower will be done when it is golden brown and fork tender.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Once the cauliflower is completely cool, cut into small florets and place in a medium mixing bowl. Pour 1 cup of prepared skhug sauce over the cauliflower and mix well. Set aside.
GREEN SKHUG SAUCE:
Clean the jalapeños and remove the stems. Cut the peppers, remove the seeds, and add them to a food processor. If you prefer a spicier sauce, add the peppers with the seeds to the food processor.
Add the cilantro, parsley, garlic, lime zest and juice, sea salt, coriander, and cumin to the food processor and pulse a few times to chop everything up.
After the ingredients are chopped together, switch the food processor to low and slowly pour the extra virgin olive oil through the feeder tube to create an emulsion. Be sure not to process the ingredients too much. The sauce should still be slightly chunky with pieces of herbs in it.
Store in an airtight container and let sit overnight before use to allow the flavors to blend together.
SRIRACHA MAYO SAUCE:
In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until well combined.
To serve, cut the pita bread in half. Layer in the cauliflower, baby spinach, pickled red onions, and ½ tbsp sriracha mayo sauce to each half of the pita bread. For a less spicy variation, layer in ½ tbsp of Vegenaise rather than the sriracha mayo sauce.
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