Spicy Moroccan Cauliflower Dinner Inspired by Ruhama

Last week, I spotted some big beautiful cauliflowers at the neighborhood farmers market. They looked so fresh and vibrant that I couldn't resist bringing one home with me.

Once I got home, though, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to make. I knew one thing: I didn't want an ordinary cauliflower recipe. I was in the mood for something flavorful, exciting, and a little different from my usual roasted cauliflower dishes.

I went online for inspiration.

Many of my friends had mentioned a Middle Eastern cook named Ruhama.  I decided to visit her website and see what everyone was raving about.

If you're not familiar with Ruhama, it's time to meet her.

According to her website, 

"Ruhama Shitrit is an Israeli-American recipe developer and content creator who shares authentic Middle Eastern recipes through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube under her brand, RuhamasFood. Drawing from her Iraqi heritage, she creates both traditional and modern interpretations of Israeli and Mediterranean cuisine."

Her recipes look delicious, approachable, and full of bold flavors that make you want to say, "WOW" and head straight into the kitchen. She is a delight to watch perform in her videos!! She is.                                                                            quick with the recipe, to the point, and fun!! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         I was especially inspired by her vegan Moroccan Cauliflower Video Recipe. Of course, being a food blogger and recipe developer myself, I couldn't help but adapt her idea to my own taste by adding some ingredients and leaving out others. I have a feeling Ruhama would understand—we all tend to make recipes our own and there are hundreds of ways to make Moroccan cauliflower online.

The end result was an incredibly flavorful cauliflower dinner that was anything but ordinary.

Sometimes all it takes is one beautiful head of cauliflower from the farmers market and a little inspiration from another cook such as Ruhama to create a meal you'll want to make again and again.

Thank you, Ruhama, for the inspiration. Our vegan Moroccan cauliflower dinner was absolutely delicious. 

Here is the recipe I made- now you can make it with adaptations of your own to suit your taste!!

Ingredients: 

1 head of fresh cauliflower, sliced into steak slices

3 tomatoes, sliced

5 mini sweet peppers(any color) sliced

3-5 cloves of pressed fresh garlic (your choice)

1 medium red onion, sliced

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds +

1 teaspoon of ground cumin +

1/2 cup of water or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon salt (adapt to your taste)

1/8 teaspoon cracked pepper

2 cups of jarred chunky salsa (mild, medium, or hot) 

+ 1 cup of water

1/4 cup of pitted whole or sliced Kalamata olives

2 cups of cooked chickpeas (1 can, washed and drained) 

1 cup of chopped fresh cilantro (leave it out if you don't like it)

Directions; 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place tomatoes, sweet peppers, red onion, cumin seeds, cumin and 1/2 cup of water or vegetable broth in a large rimmed skillet that eventually can go in the oven. Begin to cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add cauliflower slices and the cauliflower crumbles, garlic, olives, salt, cracked pepper, salsa and an additional 1 cup of water . Cook for about 10 minutes covered. Remove lid, cook 5 more minutes. Add chickpeas and place in preheated oven for 5-8 minutes. 

Top with lots of fresh cilantro (if you like cilantro) and serve.

My Notes: 

1. Serve with rice or quinoa for a satisfying meal

2. I use a jar of organic mild salsa from Aldi

3. All my recipes on this blog are always naturally gluten-free 

4. This is an easy and tasty plant-based meal 

5.Personally, I don't add any oils to my recipes- I use water or broth instead for sautéing.