Naturally low calorie and vegan, these Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils are packed full of flavour and ready in under 30 minutes.
Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils
Chunky Cauliflower Steaks, coated in a delicious harissa marinade and roasted until lightly charred, sat atop a generous mound of green lentils flavoured with mint, parsley lemon juice and olive oil, and finished with an attractive scattering of pomegranate seeds… it’s the sort of food you expect to find in a fancy restaurant, but it’s actually really quick and easy to make this dish at home!
How to make Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks
The first step is to make the cauliflower steaks. To achieve the right size, you need to slice a medium sized cauliflower lengthways into thick slices and then use the two middle slices as your ‘steaks’. So if you are cooking this recipe for 4, you will need 2 cauliflowers to get 4 good sized ‘steaks’.
But don’t throw the rest of the cauliflower away! You can either chop it into florets, roast them alongside the steaks and serve as a side dish OR save the rest for another day.
To make the marinade, combine harissa with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Then turn each cauliflower steak in the marinade to coat thoroughly.
Finally, roast the cauliflower steaks in a hot oven for 20 minutes turning once and ta da! Perfectly cooked Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks.
How to make Herby Green Lentils
To make the herby green lentils, simply boil the lentils for about 20 minutes, while the cauliflower steaks are roasting in the oven. Drain and return to the pan.
Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, add a squeeze of lemon, some salt and pepper and a generous handful each of mint and parsley, then serve topped with the Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks.
Finally scatter over some pomegranate seeds for a beautiful jewelled finish.
Adaptations to try…
You could use thick slices of aubergine or butternut squash instead of cauliflower. You could also use halloumi if you don’t need this to be vegan.
You could add a little cumin to the lentils – simply dry fry a teaspoon or two of cumin seeds for a minute or two, then grind in a pestle and mortar before adding to the drained lentils.
You could swap the mint and/or parsley for coriander.
You could make this more substantial by adding a tin of chickpeas to the lentils (add to the lentils 5 minutes before the end of cooking).
You could swap the pomegranate seeds for lightly toasted pine nuts and/or raisins and/or diced dried apricots.
You could swap the green lentils for puy lentils. Or use a bag of pre-prepared lentils.
What to serve with Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils?
I am quite happy to eat this as a meal on its own, but it would also be delicious with a simple green salad on the side.
If you are feeling the need for carbs, some rice would go well here – I think it would work especially well with brown or wild rice. Alternatively, you could serve this dish with thick slices of crusty white bread or toasted pittas.
You could also serve my Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils as a side dish. If you do this, I recommend chopping the cauliflower into florets, before coating in the marinade and roasting. Then toss together the lentils, cauliflower and pomegranate seeds,, so it’s more of a side salad than a main dish.
What to drink with Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils?
My best wine pick here would be a crisp, zesty Sauvignon Blanc from Chile or New Zealand, an Italian Pinot Grigio, or a dry fruity rosé from somewhere like Spain or the South of France.
Red wine wouldn’t be my first choice here, but I think you could get away with a Beaujolais or a light Pinot Noir.
Can you reheat Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils?
I wouldn’t recommend it, as it is likely to make the lentils and cauliflower go a bit mushy – however you can if you want to!
A much better idea to my mind is to keep any leftovers in the fridge and eat them cold the next day. It would make a delicious packed lunch 😀
In fact, as with many such recipes, the flavours are even better the next day, so it is well worth making extra!
Can you freeze Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils?
I really wouldn’t recommend you freeze my Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils – it does horrible things to the textures – especially to the cauliflower. This is one of the few recipes on my site that I really don’t recommend freezing!
If you like Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils…
…then you might like
Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils
Ingredients
Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks
- 2 tablespoons harissa paste (I use Al’Fez)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cauliflower ‘steaks’ cut from the centre of 2 medium cauliflowers (see note 1)
Herby Green Lentils
- 250 g dried green lentils
- 3 tablespoons mint chopped finely
- 3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped finely
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve
- 100 g pomegranate seeds
Instructions
Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Mix together the harissa, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place the cauliflower steaks in the bowl one at a time, coat thoroughly in the marinade and place on a baking tray.
- Roast the cauliflower steaks in your preheated oven for 20 minutes (or until cooked all the way through and lightly charred), turning once during cooking.
Herby Green Lentils
- While the cauliflower steaks are roasting, place the green lentils in a saucepan and pour over plenty of boiling water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked to how you like them (see note 2).
- When the lentils are cooked, drain and place back in the pan. Add the mint, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
To serve
- Serve a generous mound of herby lentils in the centre of the plate. Flatten slightly and then top with a cauliflower steak. Scatter over the pomegranate seeds and serve.
Notes
Pin Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks for later
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Linkies
I am linking this up to Cook Blog Share.
Helen @ family-friends-food.com says
This looks delicious – just my kind of dinner.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Helen! So pleased you like it. Eb 🙂
Jenny Walters says
I have been meaning to try some roasted cauliflower and these look just perfect! I love the sound of the harissa spice and it all looks so simple too. The herby lentils sound divine. What a vegetarian feast. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare !
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jenny – it really is so simple to put together, but tastes AMAZING! Eb x
Sylvie says
What a great vegetarian meal – so delicious and packed with flavours! I love the herb lentil salad you serve them on too – the pomegranate seeds bring a beautiful pop of colour!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Sylvie! I am a huge fan of pomegranate seeds for that pop of colour…and flavour! Plus they are full of goodness, so WIN-WIN all round 😀 Eb x