Charred Cauliflower: Tahini Vinaigrette With Hot Pepper Jelly, Crispy Garlic, Mint

By chris5863

Ingredients

• 13 garlic cloves
• 2 cups blended oil
• 1 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 cup miso
• One 16-ounce jar tahini (2 cups)
• Tabasco
• 1 pound hot peppers (Fresno, jalapeño, serrano, cherry bombs)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 heads cauliflower
• 20 mint leaves
• salt to taste

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 60mins
Adapted from npr.org

Preparation

Step 1

To make the garlic, thinly slice 10 garlic cloves on a mandolin. Add oil. Place over medium high heat and bring to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Add garlic and stir until golden and crispy, about a minute. Remove with sieve. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Set aside. Let oil cool and reserve to make vinaigrette.

To make the tahini vinaigrette, combine one cup lemon juice, three cloves garlic, miso and garlic oil in a blender. Combine until blended. Add tahini and blend until completely mixed. Add in salt, Tabasco and extra lemon to taste. Set aside. (This makes a large amount of dressing — probably more than you need for just this one usage. Feel free to cut the dressing by half — using 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of tahini. But the dressing lasts a while and it's nice to use generously.)

To make the hot pepper jelly, rinse the peppers and remove stems. Cut each pepper in half and, if desired, remove the seeds. Coarsely chop, place in food processor and puree. Remove puree and place in sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add sugar, grapefruit juice, orange juice, remaining ¼ cup lemon juice, vinegar and salt to taste. Bring to simmer and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until mixture is a syrupy consistency and sticks to the back of the spoon. You can purchase a hot pepper jelly if you like.

For the cauliflower, cut into large florets at the natural breaks. Should get about 10-12 florets per head. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with olive oil. When charcoal is at its hottest point after lighting briquettes, add cauliflower on grate, turning often to caramelize each piece, about 5 minutes. Remove from grill.

Place mint leaves in ice cold water for about 10 minutes until they plump up.

To serve, lay cauliflower flat on a plate. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Add dollops of hot pepper jelly around the plate. Sprinkle with garlic and mint leaves.