Roasted Cauliflower & Almond Salad

This post is going to be brief, very brief.  Right now I'm packing to go on holiday for a month and, as is my usual bent, I have left just about everything to the last minute ("why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?" has long been my motto), so the fact that I'm doing a post at all is something of a miracle.

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs our theme is Pot Luck - normally a week when I like to go a bit "all out" and do something special - but for reasons mentioned above that's just not happening.  Over the last week, as I get myself ready for departure, quick and easy has most times been the order of the day.  And this roasted cauliflower salad from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem: A Cookbook has become a regular stand-by in my kitchen of late.  It's no secret, if you visit here regularly, that one of my favourite meals (summer or winter) is a salad, and in the middle of the southern hemisphere winter this salad is easy to put together (in the absence of leafy greens), and substantial enough for the cooler weather.  It also just so happens that at Tasting Jerusalem this month our theme is salads, so this post is doing double duty.

This quantity would probably feed four people as a side dish, and indeed I think it would be delicious with a bit of lightly roasted salmon or grilled lamb chops, but I love it as a meal all on its own and, as such, this makes two fairly substantial meal sized portions.

Ever one to gild the lilly, I've tricked the original recipe up a little with the addition of some preserved lemon and black olives, as well as a touch of pomegranate molasses.  I also used salted almonds instead of the roasted hazelnuts called for in the original recipe.  I've made it with the hazelnuts too, and even though hazelnuts are frequently my "preferred" nut in so many salads, somehow in this one I think I like the almonds just a little better.

Like every Ottolenghi recipe I've tried so far, this one offers a sensational combination of flavours and textures.  I urge you to try it.  'Nuff said ... I need to get on with the packing.  

Roasted Cauliflower & Almond Salad

Adapted from recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

from Jerusalem:  A Cookbook

Serves 2 to 4 people

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1x head cauliflower, cut into small florets

olive oil

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1x large stick of celery, thinly sliced

generous handful roasted, salted almonds, roughly chopped

generous handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

1/4 of a preserved lemon, flesh discarded & skin finely chopped

handful kalamata olives

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses

extra parsley leaves to garnish

handful pomegranate seeds

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (425 degrees F).

Toss cauliflower florets with a generous slosh of olive oil (2-3 tablespoons), and season liberally with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Tip into an oven dish, ideally in a single layer, and put into the preheated oven.  Cook until the cauliflower is tender and golden (about 25 minutes).  Remove from the oven, transfer to a large bowl, and set aside to cool.

Add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the cauliflower, along with the celery, almonds, parsley, preserved lemon, olives, cinnamon and allspice, vinegar, and pomegrante molasses.  Toss to combine everything well.  Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste. 

If you would like to get to know Yotam Ottolenghi a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

... or check out Jerusalem and Ottolenghi's other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK or Fishpond NZ.

         

I am also sharing this post at Tasting Jerusalem, a virtual cooking community exploring the vibrant flavors and cuisine of the Middle East through the lens of “Jerusalem: A Cookbook” by Ottolenghi and Tamimi published by Ten Speed Press. You can follow along and cook with us by subscribing to omgyummy.com, following the hashtag #TastingJrslm on Twitter and Instagram, and liking our Facebook page.

I'm also, because it would be rude not to, I'm sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely, Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my good friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, at Cook Your Books, hosted by the lovely Joyce at Kitchen Flavours, and at My Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya at My Sweet and Savory.