Smokey Roasted Cauliflower & Butter Bean Dip

Serves 4

Quick to make and good to freeze! I just love roasted cauliflower, and the smokiness of the paprika together with the creaminess from the tahini works really well here.

Turmeric is such an interesting and potent spice — Curcumin is the yellow pigment and main active ingredient in turmeric and has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. Curcumin has been well studied and is thought to have incredible anti-cancer benefits. And when combined with a fat (eg. an oil) and black pepper, curcumin’s anti-cancer effects are further amplified as it becomes more readily available to the body.

Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable high in antioxidant phytonutrients, mainly glucosinolates which are thought to play an important role in cancer prevention. It provides a nice dose of plant-based protein; as well as 62% of my daily vitamin C requirements, and that’s before I’ve even added a rainbow of vegetables for crudité or rye crackers to boost fibre intake.

INGREDIENTS

For the roasted cauliflower

· 1/3 Head Cauliflower
· 1 tsp Rapeseed Oil
· Himalayan salt
· Pepper
· 1 tsp Turmeric
· 1 tsp Smoked Paprika

For the dip

· 100 g Butter Beans
· 1 tbsp of your favourite oil (Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil works very well here).
· Juice and rind from 1 lemon
· 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
· 1 tsp Turmeric
· 1 tbsp Light Tahini
· 1/3 cauliflower roasted as above

METHOD

For the roasted cauliflower — I always roast a whole head of cauliflower at a time, so that I have some on hand in the fridge to throw into a salad or to quickly blitz into a humous. But this recipe only needs 1/3 of a head.

· Preheat Oven to 180 degrees.
· Cut cauliflower into bite sized florets, toss with a tbsp of oil if roasting the whole head, but only use 1tsp if roasting 1/3 head.
· Season well with some Himalayan salt, pepper, a tsp of turmeric and tsp smoked paprika.
· Roast for 30 mins or until starting to brown.
· Once the cauliflower is cooked, put all of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blitz until desired consistency.

Nutritional Information

Calories — 107
Carbohydrates — 10g
Fat — 6g
Protein — 4g
Fibre — 3g