In my earlier days, the word hors d’oeuvre was typed in every single catering proposal I wrote. I just flashed back on that as my fingers quickly tapped it out on the keyboard.  It’s still in there after all these years.

This hors d’oeuvre idea was born out of a HUGE cauliflower sighting the other day. We decided to make this gorgeous, delicious roasted cauliflower hors d’oeuvre platter with some of our favorite dressings.  Start with the cauliflower and build whatever favorite ingredients you’d like to feature on your platter.  We chose sliced heirloom tomatoes, toasted pita with za’atar, sautéed fresh lacinato kale with fresh garlic (serve cold or warm ~ delicious on the pita), green herb tahini dressing and lots of fresh organic dill.  It comes together quickly, as you can roast, slice and make dressing all at the same time basically. With all the fresh and roasted vegetables and the pita, encourage guests to build bites with the dressing and other components of your platter. Bite combinations will be fantastic!

FOR THE CAULIFLOWER

  • 3 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 T Penzy’s Sweet Yellow Curry (or other curry of your choice)
  • 1 T toasted cumin (optional)
  • 1 T turmeric
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1 T fresh lemon zest
  • 1-1/2 T kosher salt
  • 1 large head of cauliflower, florets cut into 2″ bites

Preheat your oven to 425.  Line a sheet pan with parchment.  Mix olive oil, curry, cumin, turmeric, lemon juice and zest together.  Place your florets on the parchment lined sheet pan and toss in the olive oil curry mixture.  Sprinkle with salt.  Roast in oven for approximately 18 minutes until beginning to caramelize just a bit. You can serve the cauliflower warm or cold.

FOR THE GREEN HERB TAHINI DRESSING

Makes approximately 1-1/2 Cups

  • 1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 T lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • 3/4 C fresh green herbs (my favorite is mint and parsley. Cilantro, dill, chives or basil are really good as well)
  • T T honey
  • 1/2 tsp salt (add more if needed)
  • Cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1/3 C good tahini
  • 2-3 tablespoons ice-cold water (or more if needed. See notes)

 

This comes together quickly in a blender.  Add all ingredients except tahini and water and blend until smooth. Once blended add in tahini and 1-2 tablespoons water. Blend again. Add more water if needed. It should be a pourable consistency for a dressing and a little thicker for a dip.  Adjust pepper and salt to your liking.

Keep refrigerated in a glass jar for up to one week.

COOK’S NOTES

We also served Mast-o Khiar with our platter, minus the pomegranate seeds because we couldn’t find any!  We featured this sauce recipe in our “Code of Condiments” blog post, but we can share this recipe right here for you as well!

MAST-O KHIAR (Persian Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce)

If you want add a little spice to the Green Herb Tahini Dressing  (because with the lemon and honey this dressing can stand up to spice) you can add a couple of teaspoons of minced jalapeño and blend in.  This is especially good with grilled or roasted foods.

If you’d like to see more texture in your dressing you can add a couple of tablespoons more of your herbs after blending.  Just add them in and pulse the blender until they’re incorporated.  It’s makes for a really pretty dip.