This is a delicious way to turn the humble cauliflower into a star turn.  Roasting intensifies the flavours of the  Romano peperoni and the middle-eastern spices  giving  a wonderful depth of richness.  It is also a dish that does not require a lot of  last-minute preparation so its perfect for  entertaining . It can be prepared  beforehand and then  heated up just before serving. Its also really good  served  cold the next day. And , of course , it’s super healthy.

• serves 4-6 people  pre heat oven 180˚

• 1 organic cauliflower with some leaves attached
• blanch it for 2 minutes in boiling, salted water then let drain in colander
• 3 Romano peperoni, cut lengthwise in half
• 2 Spanish onions, cut into eights
• 4 cloves of garlic, thickly sliced
• 1 chilli some seeds removed and sliced

• line a large oven tray with baking paper
• cut the cauliflower into 6 thick slices and arrange on the tray
• add all the other vegetables

• for the spicy sauce:

• melt 150 gr unsalted butter
• add 150 ml olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 2 tablespoons tomato concentrate
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate syrup
• 3 crushed garlic
• salt and pepper
• mix it all really well together and pour over cauliflower
• with your hands turn the vegetables until well coated with the sauce
• bake for 50 minutes, basting the vegetables 2 to 3 times during roasting

• the cauliflower should be golden brown in colour
• peel of the skin from the Romano peppers
• transfer to a serving dish
• serve it with ‘maast-e chekideh’ from my book ‘Pardiz’ page21