Unicorn Cauliflower

This over-the-top colorful cauliflower is just plain fun. The sauce, which is colored with superfood powders, gets its creamy decadence from tahini! It's the perfect snackable rainbow food for kids or kids-at-heart.

Ingredients

For the Cauliflower

  • Two heads of cauliflower
  • Oil of choice for cooking
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 0.5 tsp fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt
  • Optional bed of greens for plating
  • Palmful of black sesame seeds

For the Dipping Sauce

  • 0.5 c creamy tahini
  • Juice of a lemon
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1-2 tsp pink pitaya powder
  • 0.5-1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 0.25-0.5 tsp blue spirulina

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 and lightly oil a large sheet tray.
  2. Cut the cauliflower into florets. For the bigger florets, cut them in halves or thirds for even cooking.
  3. Put the florets into a large mixing bowl and toss them with a dash of your favorite cooking oil. Make sure they're all evenly (but lightly) coated.
  4. Lay the cauliflower florets on the sheet tray in a single layer; they won't brown if they're overlapping.
  5. Roast for about 30-45 minutes until tender and browned.
  6. While the cauliflower is roasting, combine the vinegar, maple syrup, and fleur de sel in the same mixing bowl you used previously (no need to wash it).
  7. Also while the cauliflower is roasting, mix together the ingredients for the tahini sauce (tahini, lemon juice, and maple syrup). Add the lemon juice gradually, just until you achieve a rich consistency that you can drizzle.
  8. Split the tahini sauce into three small bowls and add one color (pink pitaya, turmeric, blue spirulina) to each. Mix well. These coloring agents can be pretty bold, so start small and add them gradually until you achieve the look you want. Sometimes the powders can cause your tahini to thicken too much; if that's the case, just add a dash of extra lemon juice or water to thin it out.
  9. When the cauliflower is finished cooking, dump the florets right into the vinegar and maple syrup mixture and give everything a good toss. Let it sit for a few minutes, tossing every minute or so, to allow the cauliflower to absorb the flavorful sauce. This is key for preventing the cauliflower from drying out!
  10. Transfer the cauliflower to a serving platter, plated on a bed of greens if you like. Drizzle it liberally with all three colors of tahini sauce, then finish it with a generous sprinkle of black sesame seeds. Serve immediately, with extra tahini sauce on the side for dipping.