Published January 11, 2019

2019 New Year’s Resolutions

I’m proud that I’ve been consistent with staying active and making thoughtful food choices. That’s not to say that I’m going to “miss-out” on dessert or my favorite meals. Rather, I’ve started making better choices relating to portion sizes and using real ingredients.

This week, to continue eating and cooking thoughtfully, I’ve decided to share a vegetarian and produce-based recipe.

I’ve gained inspiration from my sister-in-law who cooks using vegetables as her main ingredient (rather than a protein). I’ve also tried bolder spices in this dish (inspired by Half Baked Harvest’s Pinterest).

For my own growth as a home-cook, I’ve combined several techniques for the fresh ingredients, and a variety of flavors for this weeknight meal. I hope you enjoy!

The Ingredients

This recipe requires preparation. If you’re a budget-conscious shopper or someone who likes organic, this list may require you to go to multiple stores for the best deals/produce.

I managed to cook this on a week-night because I bought the ingredients in advance. If you find that you don’t have time to shop during the week, or are unfamiliar with some of the ingredients/spices, this may be a weekend meal for you to try.

The hardest ingredient to find in the store was the tahini. It ended up being in the peanut-butter and jelly aisle. I expected it to be near the spices or international items.

Another ingredient you should think about in advance are the avocados. All of the avocados available to me were freshly picked, light green, and hard as a rock. Here’s an article which will help you pick the best avocado for your recipe.

Luckily, my sister managed to find a bag of perfect avocados. I spent more money this way, but I felt the recipe needed the ingredient.

How to Make Vegetarian Pitas with Roasted Cauliflower

The prep for this dish is what takes the longest. Buying all of the ingredients is one task. Washing, chopping, slicing, grating, and dicing is what takes the longest part of this recipe, but — it is worth it.

I recommend that you prep all of your toppings and make your sauces first (or even the night before). Then roast the cauliflower as you clean up. I did the opposite so I felt pressured to finish the vegetables before the cauliflower was cold.

Since I cooked for a group, the leftover ingredients made it easy to recreate the dish for lunch. Select a larger cauliflower head if you want leftovers.

The Final Product

The Spices

The cauliflower had Indian/Mexican-inspired flavors (with the cumin, spice from the paprika, bold cilantro, etc). Half of my family found the spices to be too strong. They said they were not a fan of this flavor combination, so they only ate the fresh veggies and pita bread.

The other half of my family thought it was great and had second helpings.

I was impressed with this dish and would eat it again. I had fun branching out of my usual repertoire of Italian-seasonings.

The cauliflower did have some spice (for my low threshold), but the cooling yogurt sauce helped balance it out. The honey and garlic was the most interesting flavor combination on the cauliflower.

I didn’t put too much of the tahini-sauce on my pita, as that is a distinct flavor that I didn’t want to overpower the dish. However, my dad loved the tahini-sauce and added more to his pita.

The Fresh Toppings

By far, what made this dish special was the combination of fresh vegetables with the bold cauliflower. I added tons of vegetables 1. To make for a filling dish and 2. To add a variety of textures and flavors.

The cucumber was thin and fresh, the cilantro was bright and reminded me of lime. The avocado provided some creaminess (along with a mellow flavor in case the cauliflower was too spicy). I also added diced tomatoes. In my mind, though I was using pitas, I was also thinking about tacos. This dish could translate to any type of medium to hold it (tortilla, taco shell, pita, naan, etc.)

K. Martinelli Makes Vegetarian Pitas with Roasted Cauliflower

Thanks for Watching!

Would you eat this vegetarian recipe? If you’re looking for other entree dishes, you can browse all of my recipes here.