Roasted vegetables with tahini sauce

A colorful spring-inspired platter of roasted vegetables is the perfect side dish for your Seder or any time you are entertaining a crowd. For this particular mix, I chose a whole head of cauliflower, smaller cauliflower florets in purple and yellow, shallots, Brussels sprouts and shishito peppers. But the tahini sauce is perfect with any combination of roasted seasonal vegetables you like. We eat with our eyes, so the more color, the better. (Note that the tahini sauce can be made at least 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated.)

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

1 red onion

Shishito peppers

Whole carrots

Pomegranate for garnish (optional)

Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

For the tahini sauce:

1/2 cup tahini

1/2 cup ice water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place the whole head of cauliflower in a pot of boiling water for 7 minutes. Remove and pat dry. Place the cauliflower head and all other selected vegetables on a parchment-lined sheet pan, drizzle with roughly 5 Tbsp. olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes or until browned.

3. While the vegetables are roasting, make the lemony tahini sauce: Whisk together in a bowl until smooth the tahini, ice water, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

4. To assemble: Place the vegetables on a platter with the whole cauliflower as the centerpiece and drizzle with the tahini sauce. Garnish with wedges of pomegranate for extra color if desired. Serves 4 to 6.