Najib's Special cauliflower from Nuba

Nuba is a Lebanese restaurant here in Vancouver, it serves middle-eastern-style food like falafel, pita, kibbeh, all with it's own piquant twist that I love. So if you haven't been to Nuba yet in Vancouver, you gotta go! And while you're at it, call me! I would be happy to join you.

Now, on to the topic of today's post: a mysterious and delicious dish Nuba makes called the Najib's Special, a deep-fried cauliflower dish seasoned with lemon, sea salt, and a tahini sauce. They serve it in a pita wrap, as part of a plate with lots of other stuff, and as a standalone side as well. I have always liked the dish, and last week when a friend of mine ordered just a bowl of the Najib's Special for lunch, I knew I would have to try and recreate it at home -- minus the deep frying. Many others have tried this, so here's my version:

Mona's version of the Najib's Special cauliflower from Nuba

Ingredients:

-- 1 large or 2 small heads cauliflower
-- olive oil
-- salt
-- pepper
-- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
-- Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash cauliflower and cut into bite-size florets. Place florets on a roasting sheet.
3. Sprinkle florets with a generous amount of olive oil, salt, pepper, and the cumin, mix around with hands to coat everything.
4. Roast in oven for 45 minutes, mixing every 15 minutes or so until Cauliflower is browned on the outside and tender on the inside.
5. Sprinkle cauliflower with lemon juice (might be interesting to try sprinkling cauliflower with lemon before baking to see what that does). Taste and add salt if necessary.

6. Serve with the tahini sauce from this recipe. Probably the best and easiest and most delicious way to do this in a pita or tortilla wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, the tahini sauce, and some red hot sauce. That's what I did tonight. Enjoy!

Mock Tuna Salad

I sometimes find it difficult to find vegetarian stuff to take for work lunches that a) fills me up all afternoon b) tastes good and c) is easy to pack and eat. That's why I was happy to find this recipe. It tastes surprisingly similar to tuna salad. You can add all sorts of different things in there. Here is the version I made yesterday:

Mock Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• 15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about one cans worth)
• 2 whole celery stalks
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 Tablespoons minced onion
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mayo
• 2 Tablespoons minced black olives (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon minced dill pickle or capers (optional)
• 1 squirt lemon juice (optional) 
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• ½ tsp kelp or other seaweed (optional, I leave this out because Mahesh doesn't like it but it can make it taste more tuna-like)

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, mash chickpeas with a fork or flat bottom of cup until coarse and no whole beans are left. Alternatively, pulse beans in a food processor a few times -- careful not to puree, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Mince celery, onion, and other vegetables if using, or pulse a few times in a food processor. Transfer to the mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Add more mayo and/or kelp as necessary or desired and salt and black pepper to taste.

Chef's notes: There are a lot of optional ingredients because this recipe is so variable! Just put what you like in it.