Explore the tastes and textures of the Middle East with these deliciously inspired recipes

Rock star roasted cauliflower

Cauliflower was always such a wrong ’un when I was growing up, too often boiled into an unpleasant mess. How did we get it so wrong, when in the Middle East they were roasting it, charring the outside and concentrating the flavour? In Lebanon, roasted cauliflower makes a regular appearance, and once my friend Salima cooked a version that started with a base of peppers and onions mixed with tahini. She topped this with roasted cauliflower and garnished it with nuts and herbs. It was sublime, catapulting the humble veg to rock-star status.

By John Gregory-Smith

Serves 4 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 30-35 mins | Calories 352 (per serving)

1 cauliflower, cut into florets, any baby leaves reserved

4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 red pepper, deseeded and finely sliced

80g (2¾oz) tahini juice of ½ a lemon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

TO GARNISH a small handful of finely chopped coriander leaves

½ tsp sumac

½ tsp Aleppo pepper flakes

15g (½oz) toasted pine nuts

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7 and put the cauliflower florets and leaves onto a roasting tray. Pour over 2 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss together and cook for 30-35 minutes or until charred and tender.

2 Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the onion and pepper. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

3 Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes until golden, adding a splash of water after about 6-8 minutes to help soften the peppers. Remove from the heat.

4 Meanwhile, mix the tahini with 65ml (2¼fl oz) water, the lemon juice and a good pinch of salt into a smooth sauce.

Pour over the cooked pepper and onion. Mix everything together really well and add more salt to taste. Heat over a medium heat for a few minutes to warm the sauce through. Add a little more water if the sauce starts to split – it will bring it back together in an instant.

5 To serve, spoon the cooked sauce onto a serving dish. Top with the cauliflower florets and leaves. Garnish with coriander, sumac, Aleppo pepper flakes and pine nuts. Drizzle over a little more oil and serve immediately.

Garlicky Douma dumplings

I didn’t expect to be eating dumplings in Lebanon, but there I was in the village of Douma feasting on maakroun btoum, which means pasta with garlic. Slightly more gnocchi-like than pasta, these had been cleverly rolled, cooked and then dunked in a garlic, lemon and oil emulsion. It was exquisite – rustic food that felt so refined.

By John Gregory-Smith

Serves 4 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 10 mins | Calories 535 (per serving)

FOR THE DOUGH

300g (10½oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp fast-action yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

250ml (8¾fl oz) warm water

FOR THE SAUCE

4 garlic cloves, crushed

6 tbsp olive oil grated zest of 1 lemon and juice of

1½ lemons

1½ tsp sugar

2 handfuls of finely chopped mint leaves sea salt

1 Put the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and mix together. Add the olive oil and water and bring together into a dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth. Roll into a sausage and divide into 16. Cover with clingfilm while you work to prevent the dough drying out. Roll out one portion so that it’s about 10cm (4in) long and then cut it into eight small pieces. Repeat with the rest and dust them all with flour.

2 Dust the fine side of a cheese grater with flour and then carefully roll each piece of dough against the grater using your forefingers. Push down as you go so that the dough presses against the holes of the grater and curls up as you pull it down. You get a lovely textured curve, a little like calamari, which is great for holding loads of the fragrant sauce.