Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Fresh Pomegranate and Tahini Sauce

Firstly, I must apologize for my long hiatus. It feels like forever since I have been back in the kitchen, writing down recipes and coming up with new ideas. It has actually been a solid four months since I was back in my own kitchen! If you follow me on instgram you probably noticed that I have been living with Kara Goucher these past few months leading up to the Olympic Trials. After dealing with injuries for the past couple of years, Kara finally had a long streak of injury-free running and was fitter than ever. She raced really well and came in fourth place, missing the team by just one spot! 

While I was living with Kara we put some of our favorite recipes aside “in the vault.” (This is the main reason why I have been MIA from my blog.) But now that I’m back in New York (for now), I am back to creating recipes to share with all of you!When I create a recipe it usually starts with me asking, “what do I have in my fridge?” and “what can I come up with without going to the store?” I’m the laziest athlete you will ever meet at least when it comes to food shopping!  But truthfully, I think this kind of works out in my favor because then my readers at home can be “lazy” too! And if you have a well stocked pantry you will most likely have everything you need to make my recipes. No fancy ingredients here….I had this head of cauliflower staring at me and for some reason I could not think of anything to do with it. Then I noticed I had a pomegranate and it hit me  – Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Fresh Pomegranate Tahini Sauce and Parsley. An easy classic I have made on Thanksgivings as well as a number of times at Kara’s house. I love how simple it is to make and how beautiful it is to look at. It is like a piece of food art. And with minimal clean up! 

When cooking for athletes I am always looking at food as a means to boost training and recovery. And tahini paste does that! It is loaded with calcium for building strong bones and avoiding bone injuries. This dish is an all around winner when it comes to look, taste and helping the body.
I have even made this dish with colored cauliflower and it came out really pretty. I like adding the pomegranate seeds for extra crunch and brightness but if you find you don’t have any, try adding nuts for that same bite!A small disclaimer: This dish is so addicting that you will need to make more than you think you may eat. I ate the whole thing when I made it! (Yes, vegetables are healthy but eating a whole cauliflower is not!) It is bright, colorful, lemony, crunchy, salty, tangy and all that good stuff. No need for a fancy occasion to make this dish! But you certainly will impress your guests 🙂

Recipe: Pre heat oven 350 degrees 

• 1 head cauliflower 
• 1/4 cup tahini paste
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Leaving cauliflower whole, cut the bottom leaves off and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment. Cook at 350 for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes until golden brown and tender. Cooking time may vary based on size of cauliflower.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl whisk together tahini paste, lemon juice, water, salt and garlic powder until combined evenly.
3. Once cauliflower is cooked, drizzle tahini sauce over the cauliflower. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and parsley and serve. Place extra sauce on the side or save for later – it makes for a great salad dressing.