It's not often that cauliflower becomes a main dish, but this shawarma is one of Berber & Q's most popular dishes – and it's a showstopper.
"What I love most about cauliflower is its versatility. It works brilliantly as a soup and in salads, as well as an accompaniment to most meat and fish. But it can more than hold it’s own as the main component of any dish. I like to serve cauliflower whole. There is an element of theatre to it when brought to the table fresh from the barbecue or out of the oven, especially when burnt on the edges and emanating the smell of smoke from the fire," says Josh Katz, Berber & Q's head chef and co-owner.
Josh's barbecue tips
"Try sourcing some chunks of wood to sit atop of your burning coals on the barbecue. There is a vast array of different woods available that can be picked to suit whatever is being cooked, ranging from hickory to mesquite and including apple, cherry or oak. Smoke emanating from the wood can be used to enhance the flavour of whatever is positioned directly above it. Cauliflower is particularly susceptible to this and benefits greatly from the addition of smokiness."
"A barbecue can be set up for 2-zone cooking quite easily. It’s a common assumption that BBQ cooking largely involves grilling for relatively short periods of time directly over hot burning coals. Banking the coals to one side of your BBQ and positioning a larger piece of meat to the opposite side enables indirect cooking for longer periods of time. In this way, a BBQ can easily be turned into an oven, with the added benefit of imparting a smoked BBQ flavour to whatever is being cooked. Just remember to put the lid on your barbecue whilst ensuring the vents remain at least partially open to ensure a continuous airflow."
