Beautiful Brassica

Cauliflower Takes Center Stage in this Quick Vegan Dinner

For the past decade or so, cauliflower has enjoyed an unlikely bit of celebrity. Let’s face it: It’s not the most glamorous vegetable at the market, or even the most glamorous brassica (just look at its bold cousin, spiky green Romanesco). But, like a good ensemble actor, cauliflower has deftly disguised itself to play many roles—everything from pizza crust to mashed potatoes to rice. It’s time for it to take center stage in this winter weeknight recipe, where the humble veggie shows off its inherent natural deliciousness and its ability to pair well with a variety of flavors, from acidic to spicy to creamy.

This vegan recipe recruits the microwave to deliver a from-scratch dinner to your table in just a half-hour. Cauliflower luxuriates on a bed of elegant black lentils, dressed in a sauce of tahini, lemon and garlic. Other nut or seed butters (like peanut, almond or sunflower) can stand in for the tahini for different but equally craveable results. If slicing the cauliflower into steaks doesn’t appeal, separate the head into florets and reduce the microwave and oven times by half. Seek out purple or orange varieties or green Romanesco for a pop of color but snowy white cauliflower does equally well.