Spiced Chickpeas With Cauliflower and Roasted Lemon Recipe (2024)

For everyone finding the lemons indigestible in this recipe, or finding it hard to find Meyers, a finely chopped preserved lemon works wonders in a recipe like this and is much, much more palatable to eat whole. (The prolonged salting softens and cures the skin.) Just be careful with the added salt, as preserved lemons are already very salty.

For a simplified weeknight version, I made a few adjustments: I boiled the lemon as advised. Then, I marinated the cauliflower, tomatoes, jalapeno, rosemary, spices, tomato paste, etc. in a big bowl. Finally, I roasted some seasoned, cubed sweet potatoes and the chickpeas on their own, and then roasted everything together until it was crisped. I did make the yogurt sauce as noted. Very tasty! Love easy vegetarian meals like this.

When I cook from a recipe, I really like to know the why. Why in this case do you cook the cauliflower separately from the potatoes and chickpeas? My lemons weren't burnt before I got the chickpeas in the oven. The cooking times are not that for the two pans are not that different. If there's a good reason to cook this on two pans, I'd like to know it, but making this tonight I don't get it.

This was really wonderful. I added Brussels sprouts to the mix and put the roasted veggies on a bed of farro, but otherwise followed the recipe closely. The bits of carmelized lemon and dilled yogurt dressing really made this dish. As a long-time vegetarian, I'm embarrassed to say that I've never roasted chickpeas (or any beans) before! What a nice surprise!

Why not try a tahini dressing or top with hummus instead.

Loved the chickpeas and will use them in other dishes. Cook them the full time so they're nice and crispy. The tomatoes were approaching heaps of char after 20 min., so fortunately the cauliflower was done by then. Reduce heat to 400? And add tomatoes after 10 min. have passed? Definitely put down some aluminum foil --- clean up was a bear.

The individual components were nice but when everything is combined, including the yogurt sauce which you really shouldn't skip, this was really delicious and quick for a weeknight.Only swap I made was fire roasted canned tomatoes that I added at the end instead of roasting the cherry tomatoes. I used a purple sweet potato for some color. Served over brown basmati rice and added a dollop of zhough. Zhoug recipe:https://www.themediterraneandish.com/zhoug-spicy-cilantro-pesto-recipe/

I used a preserved lemon.

My new fave!!Bright, interesting, satisfying. My only suggestion is to plan it so all of the roasting is done at the same time.

I thought this would be more trouble than it actually was--all those ingredients, all that prep... Instead it was a deliciously pleasant surprise--we enjoyed the spices and the cool herb sauce, and the lemon (non-Meyer) was wonderful, not at all bitter.

Why boil a sliced Meyer lemon for a baked dish? That’s ridiculous. The peel is so thin you could eat it rawmifmyou wantedmto.

I simplified this recipe by omitting the sliced lemons. Instead, I added fresh lemon juice immediately after everything came out of the oven-- it came out really well. I also didn't make the sauce. I'm sure it would've been more sophisticated with the sauce, but it was delicious without it.

I was really short on time, so I threw everything into a Dutch oven and baked it at 400 degrees for an hour. I even forgot the lemons, which I would imagine add a lot of flavor and texture. But it was still delicious!

Great recipe to use fresh Meyer lemons, basil and rosemary from our garden. I forgot to buy potatoes so substituted carrots and daikon which roasted well. I’m sure it’s better with potatoes though.You should double the yoghurt sauce and put on the side to mix in when serving. Otherwise you will waste the nice crispness of the roasted vegetables.One fail in the recipe is thinly slicing jalapeño. They mostly burnt to carbon. I will roast them sliced in half next time then cut them when done.

Given my personal love of citrus tang, I used the juice of two lemons in the yogurt sauce, adding yogurt as necessary to offset the additional liquid.Also, I used a 15 oz can of chick peas. Didn't seem enough. Next time I'll try using more.

This was the bomb. Loved the crunchy chickpeas and didn’t find the lemon bits overpowering - and I just used normal ones. The cauliflower and tomatoes were a bit overdone so I’ll do them for less time the next time. But this is superb and I’ll serve it as a main to guests

This was a delightful dish that my partner and both my kids enjoyed. I didn't have a Meyer lemon so rather than including the peel I scraped out the pulp and put the pulp in the dish with the cauliflower and tomatoes sans peel. Will definitely make again!

Absolutely delicious! We roasted it for longer than called for, added mushrooms as well as fennel seed to the spice mixture. Also topped with feta and olives before covering it in the zingy sauce which was a great addition.

A little too spicy for our taste. Also I used preserved lemons sliced thin, but forgot to add them until the end. They would have melded better with the dish if I had roasted them along with the rest.

Great tasting and glad I didn’t skip the yogurt sauce (made with dried herbs because winter). I did skip the lemon slices so added some juice and zest at the end. I’d recommend doubling the cherry tomatoes- they roasted away! - and using foil in the baking sheet.

This recipe was absolutely fantastic. I tossed preserved Meyer lemons in at the end instead of baking them. We loved it.

My husband loved this. The cauliflower took much less time to cook. One of our new favorites.

Absolutely scrumptious.

This is DELICIOUS. I only had canned tomatoes so mixed in some chili crisp and gave it a shot anyway. I was craving the leftovers as soon as I cleaned up from dinner! My 13 year old was skeptical but also loved it. Can’t wait to make it again with cherry tomatoes

Very tasty, but not sure it is worth all the steps to cook a bunch of my favorite ingredients (which is why I tried it). The timing is way off for the two separate pans, at least if you have an electric oven as I do. I put both pans in at the same time, the potatoes on top to gain the heat and crispness from the top coils. Next time I will probably throw everything into a slow cooker and spread out a couple of spoonfuls under the broiler for crispy bits.

I love this recipe and have made it numerous times--I live cauliflower, too, as does Melissa, and I love her plant-based recipes and use of spice blends and lemon.

For vegans, adding some drained, marinated tofu (see Za’atar roasted tofu and chicken pea recipe for cooking instructions ) would add more protein.

Terrific combination of flavors and starring ingredients, BUT neither timing nor recommended roasting instruments worked for this seasoned cook. I made half the recipe and even so, the tomatoes and lemons created so much steam on the crowded sheet pan that I ultimately divided contents on/into two pans so they would roast. In turn, chickpeas so close to oven floor for so long were way overdone. Add chickpeas for last 15-20 minutes.

Really nice. Both liked it a lof

If you're trying to figure out what to cook your veggie friends for dinner? This is it! They will love this. It's filling and nourishing and not a veggie version of a meat dish. Yum! Easy for a weeknight. Easy to riff. Not necessary but I think capers and/or green olives would be nice and/or Cous Cous or farro. Tahini instead of yogurt. Next time I'll do two cans of Chickpeas and maybe skip the potatoes.