Description
A north African thick spice sauce, harissa is warm, smoky, tangy, and spicy. It's a perfect compliment to the nutty and slightly sweet cauliflower and chickpeas. Serve this one of a kind recipe as a vegetarian dish.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 dried red chili peppers
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup cilantro, plus more for serving
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut in florets
- 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained
- 8 ounces of baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven.
- In a blender or food processor add the tomato paste, honey, dried red chilies, garlic cloves, cumin, smoked paprika, kosher salt, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Pulse the food processor 10 to 15 times, scaping down the sides once or twice. The harissa should be a smooth paste-like texture.
- Place the cauliflower florets and chickpeas in a large bowl. Add the harissa and toss to coat the cauliflower and chickpeas.
- Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and pour the harissa coated cauliflower and chickpeas on it. Make sure to spread out the cauliflower evenly on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes. The cauliflower should be charred in spots.
- While the cauliflower and chickpeas are roasting, heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the pan. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the spinach. Sauté and stir the spinach until almost wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the raisins and continue sautéing for an additional minute.
- When the cauliflower and chickpeas are done roasting, remove them from the oven. Add the spinach and raisins to the baking sheet and toss to combine.
- Season to taste with additional salt, sprinkle with cilantro leaves and serve.
Notes
- A blender or better yet a food processor makes easy work of preparing a batch of harissa. Just add all the ingredients and whirl.
- To ensure the cauliflower gets of nice char, preheat the baking sheet. Also, do not crowd the cauliflower florets on the pan. This will cause the florets to steam and become mushy as they roast.
- Use a large sauté pan when cooking the spinach. It will make easy work of containing all the leaves.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: entrée or side dish
- Method: sauté and roast in oven
- Cuisine: North African
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 229
- Sugar: 10.6 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 9.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.8 g
- Fiber: 8.3 g
- Protein: 7.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg