Roasted Cauliflower & Red Pepper Sauce

This roasted cauliflower & red pepper sauce is a colourful dish loaded with delicious veggies and topped with roasted chickpeas. The bottom layer is a creamy whipped tofu with roasted red peppers, then we’ve got roasted cauliflower florets and chickpeas. Next, some homemade pickled onions (so good!) and finally a cilantro and olive oil dressing. It’s colourful, healthy, very filling (but still light!), and makes the perfect dinner.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25-35 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1 can of chickpeas (540mL, 19 fl oz)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 3/4 tsp maple syrup

Whipped Red Pepper Tofu

• 1/4 cup roasted unsalted cashews
• 2 roasted red peppers (from a jar)
• 200g extra-firm tofu
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Pinch of salt
• 1-2 tbsp water, if needed

Cilantro Dressing

• Lots of fresh cilantro
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

Quick Pickled Onions (optional)

• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 cup boiled water
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt

Equipment

• Blender
• Bowl
• Frying pan

Instructions

1. If making quick pickled onions, thinly slice the red onion. In a glass jar, mix together the boiled water, rice vinegar, white vinegar, maple syrup and salt, then add the sliced onions. Let them sit to quickly pickle while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.
3. Cut cauliflower into florets and add to a lined baking sheet with olive oil and salt and pepper. It will need 10 more minutes than the chickpeas, so I suggest roasting and then adding the chickpeas after 10 minutes.
4. Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas, then add them to a bowl with soy sauce, nutritional yeast, maple syrup and paprika and toss well. After the cauliflower has roasted for 10 minutes, add the chickpeas to the tray and roast for about 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender and the chickpeas are golden.
5. While that’s in the oven, prepare the whipped roasted red pepper sauce. To a blender, add cashews, roasted red peppers, tofu, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt and blend until you get a creamy consistency, adding 1-2 tbsp of water if needed to reduce the thickness.
6. Prepare the cilantro dressing by finely chopping fresh cilantro and adding to a bowl with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
7. Plate up by spreading the whipped roasted red pepper sauce on the bottom of the plate, then adding roasted cauliflower and chickpeas, pickled onions, and finishing off with the cilantro dressing. Enjoy!