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Roasted caulifower salad with hazelnuts, grapes and baby spinach

10/9/2016

23 Comments

 
Roasted caulifower salad with hazelnuts, grapes and baby spinach - Liz Posmyk Good Things
Cauliflower, baby spinach, hazelnuts and at least a couple of different kinds of cheese are among the ingredients that I always have at hand in the refrigerator. 

 With the caulis, I love making cauliflower mash and cauliflower cheese (my grown up son's favourite food at present); as well as my mother's recipe for karfiolleves (cauliflower soup), which is among the treasured Magyar dishes to be featured in my upcoming book (news on that soon).

The lightly roasted hazelnuts, which I buy in bulk from Fourjay Farms on the NSW Central Tablelands, go straight into the freezer for long keeping. These I use in everything from my raspberry Dutch baby pancake, to chocolate hazelnut wholemeal brownies, choc-hazelnut frozen banana pops, and Gwent hazelnut cake - among other good things.

The baby spinach (and cheese, which is also kept in the freezer) are used in dishes such as my spinach and zucchini frittata, which appears regularly on the menu when our garden is flush with zucchinis. I also adore making this angel hair pasta with (canned) salmon, ricotta and baby spinach.

More recently, I have been lightly roasting cauliflower florets and using them in a range of salads. I have tried them in a salad with quinoa and chick peas; as well as one with lentils and dates. There is a hint of the Middle East in these dishes - a style of cooking perfected and showcased by esteemed chef and cookbook author, Yotam Ottolenghi. 

The recipe I'm sharing in this article is my adaptation of an Ottolenghi recipe from his superb book, Plenty More, which was published in 2014 by Random House. Long time readers may recall that I gave away a signed copy of the book.

In recreating the recipe, I chose to use a delicate extra virgin olive oil instead of rapeseed oil, and steered away from the Dijon mustard and sherry vinegar (both of which my Peter dislikes intensely). I added a squeeze of lemon juice from my home grown Meyer lemons and set the salad on a bed of fresh baby spinach. I also opted for shredded cheese instead of creamy crumbled cheddar, because that's what I had in the fridge.

The best thing about this salad is that it can be served as a main course. My Peter absolutely loved it. Indeed. he devoured every last skerrick. It's no wonder that Ottolenghi's friend and fellow chef, Sami Tamimi, tweeted after enjoying the dish at NoMad that he had 'just eaten one of the best meals of [his] life'.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SALAD WITH HAZELNUTS, GRAPES AND BABY SPINACH
1 head of cauliflower, washed and broken into florets
80mls delicate extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice*
1-2 teaspoons honey* (*or try some pomegranate molasses instead)
1-2 handfuls fresh baby spinach leaves, washed, patted dry
1 tablespoon raisins
40g light toasted hazelnuts, roughly crushed (use a mortar and pestle)
100g red seedless grapes, sliced in half
80g shredded cheddar cheese
20g fresh parsley sprigs
sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C. Line a baking tray with parchment. 

Place the cauliflower florets into a bowl and drizzle over about half of the olive oil and season with the sea salt and pepper. Arrange the florets on the lined baking tray and roast for about 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the cauliflower to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining olive oil with the lemon juice and honey. Whisk until well mixed.

Arrange the baby spinach leaves in a serving bowl, followed by the roasted cauliflower florets, raisins, hazelnuts, grapes, cheese and parsley. Pour over the dressing and season to taste with a little sea salt and pepper, if desired. Serves 4. 
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Over to you, dearest readers. What ingredients are always in your refrigerator? Do you enjoy cauliflower? Have you ever tried roasting it?
23 Comments
Amanda link
10/9/2016 07:47:13 pm

Mmm, this sounds delicious.
I'd probably dress it with olive oil and pomegranate molasses, myself.
I fail to understand the allure of rapeseed oil. Nigel Slater uses it a lot too.

Reply
Lizzy
10/9/2016 09:24:00 pm

Amanda, that's a great idea... and I have plenty of pomegranate molasses, thank you! X

Reply
Eha
10/9/2016 08:49:35 pm

What an interesting salad! Have everything bar the grapes [naturally :) ] at home: so what a quick and tasty lunch tomorrow! Thanks also for the tips on what you keep in the freezer and the links to some of your dishes I may have missed . . .

Reply
Lizzy
10/9/2016 09:24:22 pm

Eha, it is my pleasure. Enjoy darling friend x

Reply
Zohra
11/9/2016 03:40:08 am

I love roast cauliflower and so do my family. I add some olive oil, cumin and crushed chilli flakes in the pan to roast. We eat it like this as a side with roast meats, or in a salad with macadamia nuts, fresh coriander and feta. YUM!

Reply
Lizzy
11/9/2016 04:32:30 am

Oh Zohra, I like the sound of your additions... yummy! And with roast meats, good idea! Sadly I need to keep the spicy foods down (because of my silly tum)... thank you for stopping by xxx

Reply
Simone Mason
11/9/2016 04:33:04 am

Lizzy, I haven't tried roasted cauli as yet. I think I need to do something about that. Thank you for the inspiration.

Reply
Lizzy
11/9/2016 04:53:31 pm

Always a pleasure, Simone X

Reply
Peter
11/9/2016 04:33:20 am

Yep, this is a keeper.

Reply
Lizzy
11/9/2016 04:53:49 pm

So glad that you love this, xxx

Reply
David link
11/9/2016 10:15:13 am

The salad looks wonderful but I am really hoping you will post a recipe for ten karfiolleves soon! :)

Reply
Lizzy
11/9/2016 04:54:20 pm

Ah, the karfiolleves ... for that one, you might need to wait for the book XX

Reply
David link
11/9/2016 10:18:44 am

I always forget to answer your questions! You already know from my multiple posts on the subject that I love roasted cauliflower. But, as for ingredients that are always in my fridge? Lettuce/greens, Dijon mustard, eggs, unsalted butter, milk (for cocoa), wine, water. Not necessarily in that order!

Reply
Lizzy
11/9/2016 04:55:00 pm

That's a great combination, David! Always at the ready for good cooking.

Reply
bushboy link
12/9/2016 03:27:12 am

I love roasted cauliflower. The many way I have to serve has just been added to, Thanks Lizzy

b x

Reply
Lizzy
12/9/2016 04:05:56 am

Always my pleasure xx Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for loving my Florentine recipe!

Reply
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella link
12/9/2016 05:31:42 am

I always end up eating the roasted cauliflower by itself because I love it so much!

Reply
John / Kitchen Riffs link
12/9/2016 08:57:50 pm

Love roasted cauliflower. Either all by itself, or as an ingredient in other dishes. Like this one! Really nice -- thanks.

Reply
Frank link
14/9/2016 07:36:53 am

This salad looks truly delightful. Light and healthy while at the same time the cauliflower gives it enough heft that, as you say, it could be served as a main course. Ottolenghi's book truly is a gem.

Reply
All That I'm Eating link
14/9/2016 11:04:29 am

I love roasted cauliflower and I bet it's so good with the sweet grapes and hazelnuts.

Reply
Laura | Tutti Dolci link
14/9/2016 12:51:58 pm

I love roasted cauliflower and this looks incredible!

Reply
Liz link
14/9/2016 08:55:21 pm

What a delightful salad! I love roasted cauliflower, but never thought to add it to a green salad! What a smart move, my friend!!

Reply
Tandy I Lavender and Lime link
18/9/2016 11:55:00 pm

I love roasting cauliflower and use it as a trivet when roasting chicken so that it soaks up all the juices.

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