Pumpkin & Pomegranate

Zahrah is Arabic for “Blooming Flower”, and that is a beautifully descriptive name to give such a wonderful dish. For New Years Eve dinner Matt took me to this great little restaurant in Bellevue. For those not familiar with the area, Bellevue is East of Seattle, on the other side of Lake Washington. We had never been there before, but I was told in advance that it was a very garlic heavy restaurant. The restaurant serves up authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, and since hummus is a staple in my diet you can bet that this sort of place is right up my alley. We ordered the Mezza platter to share, and then an entrée each. They were extremely accommodating when we told them we are vegan. Now, you know I am not vegan, but I do make sure to say this when I am at a restaurant where I will not be ordering anything that isn’t vegan. It is just easier for me to say, than for me to go into why I don’t consume any dairy, or why I only eat eggs from chickens I know. No one warned us about the portion sizes in this place, and one entree could have easily fed both of us. The Mezza tray was for about 4-6 people, but my goodness it was worth it! The stars of the evening were the Baba Kanouj and the Zahrah. The Baba Kanouj was by far the best I have ever eaten. So good that I would happily drive all the way over there just for an order of it.  have tried to make my own Baba Kanouj, but since I only have an electric range and a broiler I cannot get that fabulous smokey flavor which is so important.

The Zahrah was a different story. It was such a surprising dish that night. I have never been overly enthusiastic about cauliflower, but then I had never tried Zahrah. Zahrah is fried cauliflower with tahini sauce, and oh dear god what an experience! I probably wouldn’t have touched it if I had known it was fried, but when it came to the table all golden and gorgeous I had to try some. Words cannot adequately express my adoration. The melding of the mild crucifer and the tang of the tahini was a sensuous experience. I asked our helpful server how they got the cauliflower to be so beautiful and golden and he explained that it was fried. Well, it was a holiday after all. At that moment I vowed to Matt that I would try to do the same with roasted cauliflower at home.

This Past Wednesday I created my own little Mediterranean feast, and with it…Zahrah. I have to admit that the fried is a smidgen better, but not by much! I only wish I could get the cauliflower to be more uniformly golden, other than that it was ver, very good. You could even use the tahini sauce on steamed cauliflower. I did this with steamed broccoli about 2 weeks ago and it was quite good.

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend Mediterranean Kitchen

Zahrah

Ingredients:

• 1 Head Cauliflower, cleaned and broken into florets
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 C. Tahini
• Juice of 1-2 Lemons
• 2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
• Water
• Sea Salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Toss the cauliflower florets with a little extra virgin olive oil and roast in the oven until they are golden, about 20-25 minutes.
3. In a blender or food processor, combine the tahini, garlic, sea salt, and lemon juice. Blend to combine. You may also whisk this by hand. Taste a little and add more lemon, garlic, or salt if it needs more. Add a little water and continue to blend, adding more water until you get to the desired consistency. It should be be the consistency of a thick, pourable sauce.
4. Drizzle the tahini sauce over the roasted cauliflower and serve.