Eritrean Cauliflower recipe

Ingredients (4p)

For the cauliflower:

• 400 g cauliflower (about 2 pieces)

Spice mix:

• 28 ml of sunflower oil
• 4 g cumin powder
• 2 g Aleppo pepper
• 4 g paprika
• 4 g coriander powder
• 3 g salt

Tsebi Shiro (peanut sauce):

• 200 g peanuts (plus 40 g extra)
• 60 g butter
• 52 g tomato paste
• 60 g onion
• 7 g ginger
• 200 ml of water
• ¼ bunch of parsley

About Eritrean Cauliflower

This roasted cauliflower with Tebshi Shiro is a wonderful example of the flavors of Eritrea and Ethiopia. Shiro Wat, Wot or Tebshi is a puree/sauce made from legumes (such as chickpeas, broad beans, peanuts or, as here, ground peanuts).

It is very popular during fasting days, such as during Ramadan or Lent (Tsom), when eating animal products is not allowed. In addition, Shiro Wot is also eaten on Wednesdays and Fridays because of the Christian Orthodox tradition of fasting on these days.

At A Beautiful Mess, we use it as a sauce with roasted cauliflower, which we roast with our own spice blend. We make this mix ourselves with fragrant and flavorful spices.

How do you make it?

1. Divide the cauliflower into florets.
2. Mix all the spices together. Rub the cauliflower florets with the mixture, along with the salt and oil.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Roast the cauliflower florets for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
4. Roast all peanuts and grind 500 g of the peanuts into powder in a food processor.
5. Heat the butter over low heat and meanwhile finely chop the onions. Add the onions and stew for 10 minutes over low heat. Add the tomato paste and simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Grate the ginger and add it along with the water. Season to taste with sauce. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, adding a little extra water if the sauce is too thick.
7. Coarsely chop the rest of the peanuts and finely chop the parsley.
8. Make a teardrop shape on the plate with the peanut sauce, spread the cauliflower on top and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and parsley.