TAHINI GLAZED CAULIFLOWER

We’re obsessed with this cauliflower. I’ve made it three times in the last week for different people and it reports back as the favorite dish. Every brand of tahini varies in texture. I find the 365 Whole Foods brand to work well here because it’s naturally quite runny. If you need a visual, albeit on super speed, I made a Reel over on Instagram so you can see how easy this is!

TAHINI GLAZED ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Serves 4

I’ve served this as a side with some lamb meatballs and quinoa salad, but is is a great side for just about anything. Veg friends, it is filling and textured and honestly if you just want a bowl of this on top of some greens as a meal, that works too. It is best eaten fresh out of the oven, but can be reheated as needed, it will just absorb most of the tahini coat. Fresh herbs forever. Don’t skip the parsley and mint.

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. champagne or white wine vinegar
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne or aleppo, to taste
fresh ground pepper
2 shallots, peeled and cut in wedges

4 dates, pitted and chopped small

TAHINI GLAZE

1/4 cup tahini
1 Tbsp. olive oil or sesame oil
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. water
salt and pepper

3 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
1 bundle of mint, leaves removed and roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425’. Pull out a large rimmed baking sheet. Cut the florets away from the core, and break them into smallish, 2x2” florets. Drizzle the olive oil, vinegar, coriander, sea salt, cayenne/aleppo and toss everything with your hands to coat. Spread it in an even layer on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Pull it out, turn the heat down to 400’, add the shallots, toss everything around again so the shallots get some oil and seasoning on them, and pop the tray back in to roast for another 20 minutes.

While you’re waiting, chop up your dates into small pieces. Stir together the tahini glaze ingredients. It should look pretty thin, like a thicker salad dressing. Adjust with water, oil or lemon to get that consistency. Thickness of tahini varies by brand.

Pull the tray out of the oven, and while still hot, add the dates and toss them in. Add the tahini glaze and parsley to the warm pan and toss everything until all the tahini has coated the cauli. Transfer to your serving bowl and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and mint. Look at you go!

Sara Forte 2020-09-29

Tahini Glazed Cauliflower

4

A super flavorful roasted cauliflower dish.

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne or aleppo, to taste
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 shallots, peeled and cut in wedges
• 4 dates, pitted and chopped small
• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. water
• salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
• 1 bundle of mint, leaves removed and roughly chopped

324 calories20 grams fat37 grams carbohydrate7 grams protein

PT0H10M

PT20M

PT30M

middle eastern

Side

middle eastern, vegetarian, vegan

ASIAN NUGGETS WITH SAUTEED VEGGIES + TAHINI SAUCE

Asian Nuggets with Sauteed Greens & Tahini Sauce . Sprouted Kitchen

“It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do.”

―Anne Lamott

I feel very adult this week. We bought a crib and we made an offer on another house and our health care got more complicated and expensive and I'm trying to read books about birth without my chest tightening so much I feel faint and that quote makes me feel better about the normality of all this. There is a beautiful mess in the figuring out of things. I'm scared. About everything, and mostly without reason, but when I do get stressed, I can typically trace it back to fear. Fear of failing, of loosing or of being in pain. My dad met with me a few nights back so I could show him my numbers for our potential house purchase and he could confirm it was a good idea... at least on paper. I think I just wanted his blessing for the biggest purchase of our lives, even if this whole thing doesn't go through. I get a lot of my worry tendencies from my dad, and it felt nice to have someone of like mind, 30 years ahead in this game, tell me it was going to be OK. Maybe we'll have super tight months or there will be a huge leak in the floor or our new neighbor will be creepy or maybe this will be the house we slowly make ours and grow old in, but no matter how the story goes, it will all be OK. How come that is so easy to overlook? Today, I will believe it.

A sweet mom-to-be asked me for a few suggestions on freezer meals she could prepare in advance while waiting for her wee one to arrive. I realized that while clicking through our site, I don't have many options. A good handful of breakfast baked goods that could freeze well, but a limited amount of stone cold meals as I look back. I had a pretty good response to the lentil meatballs from years ago which also made it into the last cookbook, so I figured I'd try something similar to that. In the same way I make my veggie patties, I start with nearly a 1:1 ratio of cooked grains and legumes (in this case, brown rice and lentils) and then I build from there. Always garlic. Usually onion, either raw or cooked. I use egg to help bind here, but I'll often use cheese for binding power as well. I blitz in a ton of herbs, a cooked vegetable and bold spices and flavor to doctor them up. For this Asian nugget, I went with soy sauce, sesame seeds and chili sauce. Miso would be great in there too but I wanted to save that for the sauce. All veggie balls need a good sauce. A veggie ball is really only good with a sauce, if you ask me, but I think you could put them along with anything that sounds good to you. 

Asian Nuggets with Sauteed Greens & Tahini Sauce . Sprouted Kitchen

ASIAN NUGGETS WITH SAUTEED VEGGIES + TAHINI SAUCE // Serves 4-6

The Asian nuggets can be completely cooled and frozen in plastic bags until needed. I got about 26 nuggets. This just leaves you with needing to prepare veggies and sauce which could be whipped up in 15 minutes. 

As for substitutes, I think you may be able to replace the egg with flax meal and a little water but they may come out a little drier. To keep them gluten free, replace the panko with a coarse oat flour but note they will be more delicate to work with. If going the GF route, I would try to keep the egg in, if possible, to keep everything together. 

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 a yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons sambal oelek (chili paste)
• 2 cups cooked and completely cooled brown rice
• 1 1/2 cup cooked and cooled lentils (a few varieties will do though I'd avoid red and green, they get too soft)
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• pinch of salt
• sesame seeds, for garnish

•  / veggies /
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil, as needed
• 3 green onions, roughly chopped
• 5 ounces shitake mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
• 1 head broccoli
• splash of rice wine vinegar
• pinch of sea salt

• / tahini sauce /
• 1 minced clove garlic
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 teaspoons white or yellow miso
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• squeeze of fresh lemon juice or splash of rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• fresh ground pepper

Asian Nuggets with Sauteed Greens & Tahini Sauce . Sprouted Kitchen

Preheat the oven to 375'. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a food processor, combine the garlic, onion, eggs, sesame oil, tamari or soy sauce and chili paste and pulse a few times until the onion and garlic are well chopped. Add the rice, lentils, panko, cilantro, pinch of salt and pulse a few more times until just combined. You want to still distinguish nubs of rice, but it should look pasty enough that you could roll it in a ball. Let the mix sit for ten minutes. 

Roll the dough into 2'' balls and line them up on the baking sheet. Brush them with a thin coat of oil and sprinkle them with sesame seeds. Bake on the middle rack for 15-18 minutes until browned and dry on the outsides. 

For the veggies, in a large skillet, heat the sesame oil. Add the green onions, mushrooms and a pinch salt and saute for 4-5 minutes until just softened. Roughly chop the broccoli and add it to the pan along with a splash of rice vinegar and saute another 5-10 minutes until softened to your taste.

For the sauce, whisk all ingredients together until smooth and set aside. The sauce can be made up to three days in advance and kept covered in the fridge. 

Assemble your meal with a scoop of veggie, some asian nuggets and a generous drizzle of tahini sauce. 

* All photos in this post were shot with film

Asian Nuggets with Sauteed Greens & Tahini Sauce . Sprouted Kitchen

MUSHROOM BURGERS WITH ASIAN SLAW

mushroom burgers with asian slaw . sprouted kitchen

Caroline, 

I remember when I first got your email. It was the week after some negative comments had gotten the best of me, I mentioned it here and you'd written just to say hi. You appreciated my work; the food, yes, but also the way I wrote. I don't consider myself a "writer." I like writing, I can write letters, and I err on the side of vulnerability... you could classify me as a journaler, perhaps. Anyway, I keep coming back to your email because you remind me that I want to be relatable here. Even when vulnerability feels risky.

"I found your blog a year or two ago, and bookmarked it just for salad inspiration. But recently I've realized that your blog has become to me inspiration not just for salads and "bowl foods" and good food in general, but for good LIVING too. In the past 3 months, I've graduated college, gotten married, started a 9-to-5, and moved to a depressed inner-city. Our car has gotten broken into, we've started paying bills, we've learned that good communication in marriage is a full-time job, and, and, and, -- you know: real life happened. The better and the worse."

That's a lot to soak up in 3 months, lady. It wasn't the fluffy pep-you-up type of email, but the real-life-happened part of it that reminded me that we're all in a mess of things. I stop writing in fear of judgement but those aren't the people I'm writing to. We went to the beach late in the afternoon last weekend in search of a bit of perspective. I had let the prospect of a house purchase swallow me up and I needed out of my own head. I had gotten home from work in time for a late afternoon in the sun, and after a weeks-long-swell-drought there were finally some waves, so Hugh was eager to get in the water. He had been working at home all day and needed time in the waves with his buddies. I had been with people all day, so I needed to sit by myself and stare out into the ocean whose endlessness always puts things in perspective. The house was a massive decision, but not the most important we will ever make. And while it certainly comes into play, it is not the single point at which our future happiness and success will teeter upon. It is a house. Sitting there at the edge of the Pacific, so much that I had not thought about all week while I'd been wrestling with the "right decision" filled my heart.

My aunt who continues to fight cancer for the fourth time, sick and discouraged.

Friends with babies in their bellies and friends who desperately want babies in their bellies.

Health. Marriages. Lonliness. Divorce. Loss. All of it right in front of me or just a degree away.

I've re-read your email a dozen times now, Caroline. I keep the entirity of it in my personal email folder to remind me why I love this space and the awesome people I'd have never met if not for this website. Thank you for reminding me that there are people on the other side of this blog - some of whom are here for recipes or maybe the pretty photos, but most that are simply other people doing their best to craft a beautiful, meaningful life. 

I hope more better than worse for you, lovely.

Best,

me.

mushroom burgers with asian slaw . sprouted kitchen

mushroom burgers with asian slaw . sprouted kitchen

MUSHROOM BURGERS WITH ASIAN SLAW // Serves 4

For the slaw, I have this julienne peeler and think the quality is excellent. It is easiest to use when the vegetables are fresh and cold, the firmer the better for peeling purposes. A regular vegetable peeler works fine as well, your shreds will just be thicker. A great thing about marinating vegetables or tofu is that unlike meat, you can put them back into the marinade after cooking to soak up a bit more of the flavors. That said, chicken or fish, salmon maybe, could work here too if you're making food for a more omnivorous crowd.  

• 4 large portobello mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce/tamari
• 2 Tbsp. maple 
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil/ extra virgin olive oil
• squeeze of lemon or lime
• pinch of pepper

• 2 carrots
• 1 small english cucumber
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce/tamari
• 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 avocado
• sriracha mayo*
• 4 buns

mushroom burgers with asian slaw . sprouted kitchen

Wipe the mushrooms clean and remove the tough stem. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat. In a shallow pan, mix together the soy sauce/tamari, maple, oil, splash of citrus and pepper. Add the mushrooms and rub the marinade into all of the surfaces. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes to soak it up. 

Using a julienne peeler or vegetable peeler, shave the carrots and cucumber into thin or thick shreds respectively. Put them in a large mixing bowl with the red onion. Make a quick dressing by whisking together the tahini, soy sauce/tamari, sesame oil and vinegar. Pour it over the vegetables and toss to coat. Add the chopped mint and cilantro and give it all one more toss. 

Grill the mushrooms for 5 minutes on each side or until they are soft throughout. Grill or warm the buns.

To assemble the burger, smash half of an avocado on the bottom of the bun, top with the grilled mushroom and a big scoop of the asian slaw. Spread a bit of sriracha mayo on the top side bun and enjoy. 

* For the sriracha mayo, I use 1 part homemade sriracha to 2 parts veganaise or mayonaise. Stir and spread. The bottled stuff works just fine but try the homemade stuff at some point, it's a treat and has no preservatives. 

mushroom burgers with asian slaw . sprouted kitchen