Najib’s Special Lebanese Cauliflower

Najib's Special Lebanese Cauliflower is EXACTLY like the famous cauliflower from Nuba restaurant in Vancouver. It's lemony, crazy delicious, and served with a simple tahini sauce. It is totally irresistible!

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Najib's Special Lebanese Cauliflower is a tradition in Vancouver. Many hold it in god-like reverence. If you say ‘Najib's Cauliflower' to anyone who has spent time in the city, you'll be forced to endure a rant about how it's the best cauliflower in the world. They're not wrong.

When I was planning out my editorial calendar for fall (yep, I do fun and exciting things like plan months in advance), I knew that one of the two cauliflower recipes I was going to share with you had to be this Lebanese cauliflower. I just didn't have any idea how I was going to do it.

I mean, how do you make cauliflower taste like the best cauliflower in the world that a great little restaurant down the road makes? Turns out it was far easier than I imagined.

My plan was to try it a few different ways. Three, to be exact. But, after the first batch was finished, my official taste tester (aka my handsome man) declared that I had nailed it. This Lebanese cauliflower tastes EXACTLY like the Najib's Special Cauliflower from Nuba.

It's like roasted cauliflower, only about 1.4 bazillion times better. That's no exaggeration. I squeezed a bunch of lemon juice over top, sprinkled a good amount of sea salt, and served it with a simple tahini sauce, just like they do at Nuba.

It's times like this, when I'm stuffing my face with the most insanely delicious Lebanese cauliflower, that I swear I have the best job in the world.

So thank YOU for reading this little blog, so I can continue to do things like oink on fried cauliflower. You da best!

I have to tell you a story. This Lebanese cauliflower nearly burned down my home. No lie. This afternoon, I bought a replacement for the deep-fry thermometer that I broke when the slippery thing fell out of my hands and shattered on the floor. It was after making the Coconut Oil Fried Peanut Chicken which, if you haven't made it yet, you should.

I attached the new, non-glass thermometer to the side of the pot and turned on the stove. About the time that the thermometer read 250 degrees, the oil started to smoke. Oil smokes at 400 degrees and will burst into flames at 500. Yikes!

Can you imagine if I had trusted the thermometer? Shudder.

If you see the oil smoking, it's too hot. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool down. If you haven't tried your hand at deep-frying before, make sure you check out this post for some safety tips and tricks.

Anyway, don't let my near-burning-down-the-house story keep you from making this Lebanese cauliflower. You are going to love it!

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Easy and delicious cauliflower recipes:

• Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower with Tahini Yogurt
• Cheesy Irish Cheddar Cauliflower
• Garlic Brown Butter Mashed Cauliflower
• Golden Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower
• Creamy Cauliflower Hummus
• Baked General Tso's Cauliflower
• Skinny Bang Bang Cauliflower

Najib's Special Lebanese Cauliflower

Yield: 4 appetizer servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Najib's Special Lebanese Cauliflower is EXACTLY like the famous cauliflower from Nuba restaurant in Vancouver. It's lemony, crazy delicious, and served with a simple tahini sauce. It is totally irresistible!

If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!

4.96 stars (47 ratings)

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Ingredients

• Oil, for frying (avocado oil works great)
• 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into small florets (do NOT wash the cauliflower!)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch, or sub tapioca starch for paleo
• 1 lemon, sliced
• Sea salt
• Optional: cilantro or parsley to garnish

The Tahini Sauce

• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• A pinch of sea salt

Instructions 

• Add 2 inches of oil to a medium sized pot with high sides. Attach a candy/ deep-fry thermometer to the side. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches degrees 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower the heat to medium and let the oil continue to heat until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  Oil
• Toss the cauliflower with the cornstarch. This will ensure it is completely dry and safe to deep-fry. Fry the cauliflower, several pieces at a time, for 5-7 minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden brown and soft. Remove the cauliflower pieces from the hot oil and set them on a paper towel lined tray. Keep them warm on low heat in your oven while you fry the rest.
  1 medium head of cauliflower, 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• While the cauliflower is frying, prepare the tahini sauce by mixing all the tahini sauce ingredients together with two tablespoons of water.
  2 tablespoons tahini, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 small garlic clove, A pinch of sea salt
• Once all the Lebanese cauliflower has finished frying, squeeze a generous amount of lemon juice over the cauliflower and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with extra lemon wedges on the side and a little cilantro or parsley over the top.
  Sea salt, Optional: cilantro or parsley to garnish, 1 lemon

Serving: 1 serving = ¼ of the recipe, Calories: 167kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Sodium: 66mg, Potassium: 506mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 11IU, Vitamin C: 85mg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 1mg

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