W
hen I first tasted the humble cauliflower dish at the original under-the-arches Haggerston branch of Berber & Q, its bold mix of flavours and colours was, in fact, a game-changer.
The golden, blackened-in-places brassica is barbequed whole, adorned with glistening pearls of pomegranate, toasted pine nuts and tahini cream: there’s crunch, tang, earthiness and oil all tantalizing the palate, with just a bit of heat.
Discovering that the chef behind this creation was Josh Katz came as no surprise: he was once the prodigious talent at the Roundhouse’s cutting-edge Made in Camden restaurant, an ahead-of-its-time dining room that soon won a place in the Michelin Guide for its highly creative sharing plates. Katz is also a protégé of Ottolenghi – and that influence shows, too.
What’s ace about Berber & Q is actually its self-confessed inauthenticity: influences come from North Africa, the Levant and the Middle East, as well as a nod towards Americana and the Southern states. “This is what’s true to us,” says Katz, in the intro to his new book (see below). “Our backgrounds have been forged in multicultural London… influenced by the ethnic and cultural diversity that defines our city.”
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And while I’ve since been seduced by other dishes like cumin lamb chops with anchovy butter and lemon yoghurt, or buttermilk chicken shish kebab with lemon pickle, it’s the cauliflower shawarma I’ve returned to eat time and time again, with different friends in tow. Hell, I even perfected my own version over a Prakti barbecue stove, which, happily, doesn’t look or taste entirely dissimilar. Result.
Fast forward to the present day and while the cauli is now routinely charred, roasted and served three-ways across the capital, few versions improve on this classic. If Haggerston isn’t convenient, there’s also now a smaller branch in Exmouth Market, just up the hill from King’s Cross.
“If there were a single dish – the dish – that has come to symbolise Berber & Q, a ‘signature’ so to speak, it would be our cauliflower shawarma,” says Katz. He ain’t wrong.
Here, without further ado, he talks us through how to create it.
Cauliflower Shawarma with Pomegranate, Pine Nuts & Rose
Shawarma-spiced butter
40g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1½ tbsp finely chopped coriander
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground sumac
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground allspice
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cardamom
Cauliflower
1 whole cauliflower
Garnish
4 tbsp Tahina Sauce
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1½ tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 small green chilli, finely chopped
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
1 tsp dried rose petals
1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
extra virgin olive oil (optional)
For the shawarma-spiced butter
•Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer and mix using the paddle attachment. In the absence of a mixer, whisk in a large bowl until thoroughly incorporated. The butter should be aerated, slightly stiff and one colour (as opposed to streaked). Set aside until needed. It can be kept in the fridge for several weeks, but must be brought to room temperature before being used.
For the cauliflower
•Trim some of the outer cauliflower leaves, but leave some stragglers left behind – they taste delicious and look great when burnt and crisped.
• Set a large saucepan of salted water on high heat and cover with a lid so as to bring the water up to the boil. Once the water is boiling, gently lower the cauliflower into the pan, being careful not to let it drop from a height and thereby avoiding the potential of burning yourself with the splash-back of boiling water, which nobody wants, least of all you.
•Bring the water back to the boil, then turn the heat down to medium so the water has a gentle roll. The intention is to par-cook the cauliflower before finishing it in the oven or on the barbecue. It should be removed from the water when tender to a knife, yet retain some resistance – ‘al dente’, as they say. It’s important not to overcook it. Much like pasta or a lovely piece of steak, cauliflower doesn’t like being cooked for too long. We’ve found it to take 7 minutes from when the water comes back to the boil.
• Set the cauliflower on a cooling rack over a roasting tray and allow to drip-dry. Brush liberally with the spiced butter, and get beneath the floret canopy to reach the inner sections. Retain some of the butter for brushing at a later stage. Season with salt and pepper.
To finish the cauliflower
• Preheat the oven to its highest setting (240°C/220°C Fan/Gas mark 9) and blast the cauliflower for 5–7 minutes, until blackened all over. (You want it to lightly char, not to form an acrid burnt crust.)
• Once sufficiently oven-roasted, transfer it to finish on the barbecue for a few minutes (if you have one going) for a final hit of smokiness, basting it periodically with any leftover butter.
To garnish and serve
•Transfer to a serving plate. Spoon over the tahina sauce and pomegranate molasses, and finish by sprinkling over the pine nuts, green chilli, pomegranate seeds, rose petals and parsley. A drizzle of olive oil adds a nice glossy finish. Serve immediately – the cauliflower tastes so much better when hot.
