Tangy Garlic Cauliflower Sandwich

Where do I begin? Someone must have conditioned me because whenever I hear the word “cauliflower,” I salivate just like Pavlov’s dog. This sandwich is crispy, juicy, garlicky, and everything you ever dreamed of. The Lebanese cuisine is relatively healthy but there are some meals that managed to sneak away. Most restaurants serve deep fried cauliflower with a side of tahini sauce. It’s a classic side dish, especially for vegetarians.

With a couple of extra ingredients, this turned into a crowd pleasing sandwich. Check out the video below for a quick tutorial.

Serving: 1 person

Ingredients:

🍋Pita Bread: 1 piece (you can find it in any Mediterranean store but get the thin ones not the thick gyro look alike)

🍋Cauliflower: 1 heaping cup - fried, air fried, or roasted in the oven

🍋Garlic Paste: 2 tbsp (you can find the recipe here)

🍋Lettuce: 1/2 cup of thinly sliced romaine lettuce

🍋Sumac: 1 tsp

🍋Pickles: a handful of sliced pickles

🍋Lemons: 1/2 a lemon - juiced

🍋Tahini Paste: 1/2 tsp

🍋Mayo: 1 1/2 tbsp

🍋Yellow Mustard: 1/4 tsp

🍋Cilantro: 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro

🍋 Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

🍋 I personally prefer to pre half boil the cauliflower before I fry or bake them. This is totally up to you - the sandwich will taste great either way. After your cauliflower is ready, marinate the thinly sliced lettuce in the sumac, a squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and pepper. If it’s too acidic for you, add a dash of olive oil. Set that aside for a couple of minutes.

🍋 For the special sauce, mix the tahini paste, mayo, mustard, cilantro, and the remaining lemon juice all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste and your sauce is ready. It should be slightly thick, so don’t worry.

🍋 Spread the garlic paste on the pita bread, add your cauliflower, pickles, lettuce, and drizzle the sauce on top.

🍋 Fold the bottom so the dressing won’t leak, then wrap it up as seen in the video. Toast it in a panini press and serve immediately.

Variations: You can add fries to the sandwich or you can add a sumac olive oil mix on the the pita once it’s toasted.