Middle Eastern root vegetable feast with harissa and butterbean hummus

Middle Eastern root vegetable feast with harissa and butterbean hummus. Photograph: Harry Weir
Middle Eastern root vegetable feast with harissa and butterbean hummus. Photograph: Harry Weir
Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 1 hr 0 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 cauliflower, cut into even sized florets
  • 2 red onions, peeled and quartered with the roots left intact
  • 4 small carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 100ml olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1tsp coriander seeds
  • 1tsp cumin seeds
  • 250g baby peppers (or 1 large red pepper)
  • 10 dried apricots, halved
  • 2tbs harissa
  • FOR THE HUMMUS:
  • 1 tin of butterbeans, rinsed
  • 200ml light crème fraîche
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1tsp honey
  • 2tbs olive oil
  • Salt and white pepper

1 Set the oven to 180 degrees.

2 Put the cauliflower, red onions and carrots on a roasting tray.

3 Add the olive oil, season and roast for 20 minutes, turning the vegetables once during cooking.

4 Remove from the oven and add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, baby peppers, apricots and harissa.

5 Cook for a further 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender and the mixture is sticky.

6 For the hummus, put everything in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Serve with the vegetables and flatbread.

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. He and his wife, Máire, run the Tannery restaurant and cookery school in Dungarvan, Co Waterford