Harissa paste originates from Tunisia in North Africa and it’s made using chilli peppers with a blend of oil, garlic and spices. For this recipe we use rose harissa paste, which is less spicy and more fragrant.
- If you decide to use regular harissa paste, just be sure to reduce the amount of paste slightly unless you don’t mind the extra heat. You might also want to dilute the paste in a splash of oil because it can be quite thick.
- Make sure you use a gluten free rose harissa paste to make this recipe gluten-free.
- We use a quick-cook brown rice to speed up the cooking times. If you’re using regular brown rice, just be aware that it’ll take longer to cook.
- We use cooked puy lentils from a pouch, but you can also use one tin of brown or green lentils from a tin.


Ingredients
- 4 portions of brown rice, we use quick-cook (see notes)
- 1 large cauliflower head, cut into small florets
- 500g (17.6oz) cherry tomatoes
- 1 large red onion, peeled + sliced into wedges
- 1.5 tbsp rose harissa paste, see notes
- 250g (8.1oz) cooked lentils, see notes
- 2 x 300g (10.6oz) carton of silken tofu
- 2 lemons
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- olive oil (we like to use extra virgin olive oil)
- salt + pepper
- 1 x handful of fresh mint, leaves chopped
- 4 spring onions, chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 425°F.
- Cook the brown rice as per the packet instructions.
- Add the cauliflower, cherry tomatoes and red onion to a large baking tray and rub the rose harissa paste all over the veggies. Then roast for 15 minutes.
- Scatter the lentils on the baking tray over the veggies and roast everything for a further 5-10 minutes or until the cauliflower is charred and the tomatoes are soft.
- Meanwhile, add the silken tofu, juice from one of the lemons, the garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and generous pinches of salt and pepper to a bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- To serve, spoon a quarter of the tofu dressing onto each plate, then top with rice, followed by the veg and lentil mixture.
- Finish with a sprinkling of mint leaves and spring onion. Then squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon over each serving and garnish with a pinch of extra salt.
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2 Comments
I assume by the picture that the rice goes on the bottom, but the recipe doesn’t say.
Also, can the tofu be replaced with yogurt (I understand that’s not vegan)?
Hey Melissa! We add the rice on top of the tofu sauce when plating up. Yes you can definitely use yoghurt – we’d recommend using a soy based or coconut based yoghurt if you want to keep it vegan friendly 🙂