How To Make: Cauliflower, Jaffa Style

Co-founder of The Barbary and founder of hummus-based supper club ANAN, Israeli-born Eyal Jagermann has shared a Jaffa style cauliflower recipe from his online recipe course on the Rassa platform.

Speaking to The London Economic, chef Eyal Jagermann said: “I grew up just outside of Tel Aviv and fairly close to Jaffa – a beautiful city that’s famous for its co-existence of Jews and Arabs, and therefore amazing food culture, eateries and restaurants.

“My dad would go to his favourite place on Yeffet St on Friday mornings and bring home fresh Hummus and Msabacha, Pitas and The Cauliflower – golden florets charred and soaked in garlic and lemon sauce. He would bring a whole tray of it and we would try our best not to finish the whole thing by lunch. In a pita with some tahini, on top of our hummus or just nibbling on it – it was absolutely delicious and we couldn’t get enough of it. Salty, lemony, garlicky and so juicy – absolutely addictive.

“Later on when I started cooking, that cauliflower from Jaffa was always on my mind. The place on Yeffet St has been closed for years and so I started playing and testing the cauliflower and trying to get to that flavour. It was in the build-up to opening The Barbary where I really felt I nailed it and honoured that wonderful memory. We opened the restaurant with that cauliflower dish, which quickly gained popularity and success.

“I have been cooking it ever with pride and joy ever since and will continue to do so in my next venture, ANAN, and of course in Rassa’s Israeli course.

“It’s a dish that showcases the culture and history of Jaffa and modern Israeli cuisine, and also is very close to my heart. On Rassa’s online Israeli course, through a mix of on-demand videos and live sessions we cover the techniques and flavours behind Israeli cooking from middle eastern cheese making and lemon curing to combining and preparing spices. Not only will you learn how to make delicious dishes from an orange blossom cake to mastering Israeli barbecue dishes, but you will also learn how to go about developing your own recipes and sharing your creations with your course group.”

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Cauliflower, Jaffa Style

A vegan-friendly dish from Israeli-born chef Eyal Jagermann.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Israeli

Keyword Cauliflower, Vegan

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2 as a main (4 as a side)

Author Eyal Jagermann

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower (or 2 small)
• 240 ml tahini feel free to adjust according to your preferred consistency
• 1 lemon juice only
• 120 ml ice cold water
• Salt
• 1 bunch parsley
• Almonds for sprinkling

For the garlic, lemon and chilli sauce

• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 fresh red or green chillies
• 2 lemons juice only
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Turn the oven on full blast (250-300c). Using a small knife, carefully cut the cauliflower florets into similar size chunks, and also finely dice the root of the cauliflower. Toss in a mixing bowl and season generously with salt and olive oil. Keep the bowl for later. Mix well and place on an oven tray lined with baking paper and spread evenly before roasting for around 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the florets. We are looking for a nice char on the florets and stem, without overcooking the cauliflower, so it’s important to get the oven super-hot beforehand.
• While the cauliflower is roasting, let’s make our GLC sauce (Garlic, Lemon and Chilli sauce), tahini sauce, and prepare our parsley and almonds.
• GLC sauce; using either a food processor or a sharp knife, finely chop the garlic cloves and fresh chilli (cut in half and remove the seeds) and mix with the fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
• Finely chop a handful of parsley and prepare your almonds for topping by finely chopping.
• To make the tahini sauce, mix 240ml of raw tahini in a bowl with the juice of 1 lemon, a level teaspoon of salt and 120ml of ice-cold water. This will form a creamy white tahini sauce.
• Once the cauliflower is charred, blistered and still hot, move to the mixing bowl and pour over the GLC. The sauce will penetrate and soak the cauliflower and create an amazing flavour. Add chopped parsley and mix well. Taste for seasoning to see if you need more salt or GLC.
• To serve, pour some of the tahini sauce on the bottom, the cauliflower goes on top with all its juices and burnt pieces. And then for some crunch, sprinkle the chopped almonds.

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