Roasted Cauliflower Dip

I love cauliflower and I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to prepare it. This dip is my adaptation of a recipe I saw on the Food & Wine website. The recipe calls for slicing and roasting the cauliflower with ginger, salt and coriander. The roasted cauliflower was so delicious when I took it out of the oven, it would make a wonderful dish just like that. So if you're looking for a hot cauliflower side dish, just follow this recipe until you take the cauliflower out of the oven.

Making the dip requires just a few more steps, but you'll be rewarded with a delicious and distinctively different dip.

1 large cauliflower
3-4 T vegetable oil
2 T grated fresh ginger
1 T ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 tahini (sesame paste)
3 T fresh-squezed lemon juice
3 T toasted sesame seeds, or to taste
1/4 C plain yogurt
finely chopped fresh cilantro to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Trim the leaves and tough stem off the cauliflower and compost them.

3. Cut the caulflower in half and cut each half into 1/2" slices. Place the sliced cauliflower in a large bowl. Toss with the oil, ginger, coriander, salt, and pepper.

4. Spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet and roast until tender and lightly browned in spots. [Stop here for a wonderful side dish.] Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

5. Transfer the cooled cauliflower to a food processor and process to a chucky puree. Add the tahini and lemon juice and process until just incorporated.

6. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Stir in the yogurt, sesame seeds, and cilantro. Adjust the salt, if necessary. Chill before serving. This dip is great with pita chips.

My New Frontier Family Farm chicken is roasting in my oven right now and the aroma is delicious. It was a beautiful bird to prepare; lovely taut skin, pretty pink color, and a very fresh smell. I simply rubbed my bird with olive oil, seasoned it with lots of salt and pepper and some smashed fresh garlic. I cut up half a lemon and stuffed it in its cavity, and I sliced half a brown onion and scatter the slices inside and outside the bird. I can't wait to eat it.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: Artichokes, acorn squash, green leaf lettuce, broccoflower, cauliflower, Japanese turnips, red bell pepper, yellow carrots, and Fuyu persimmons.

From Weiser Family Farms: white carrots, beets, German Butterball potatoes, and Dragon Tongue beans.

From Sage Mountain Farm: arugula, summer squash, Red Kuri squash, spaghetti squash, and collard greens.

And from Rancho Santa Cecilia: Hachiya persimmons and Satsuma mandarins.

Enjoy!

Shelley