roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad
I feel that cauliflower never gets the attention it deserves, always shadowed by its greener brother, broccoli. The truth is that cauliflower is just as nutritious as broccoli and can be cooked in so many different ways, guaranteeing a mouthwatering meal each time. We’ve roasted cauliflower florets with lemon and parsley, added it raw to a salad and have turned it into two different soups. It’s cauliflower’s time to be in the spotlight again, today in a gorgeous salad that blends sweet and savory flavors so beautifully well.
This salad is another one of my favorites from Yotam Ottolenghi, adapted from his cookbook Jerusalem co-written with Sami Tamimi. I still havent found one cookbook — or set of cookbooks, as Ottolenghi has written several to date — that combines such different ingredients so well. Think sweet and savory, zesty and honeyed, sour and sugared. You’ll never get bored while cooking and eating one of his recipes.
This recipe highlights the deliciousness of roasted cauliflower, its golden florets being the main ingredient in this Mediterranean salad. Roasted cauliflower is combined with chopped celery, parsley and roasted hazelnuts, making this the perfect dish to serve with grilled meat or fish. The dressing is really what gives the salad its addicting taste — sweet, thanks to the maple syrup, cinnamon and all-spice, yet savory, due to the addition of red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!
- 1 cauliflower head, chopped into small florets
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 celery stalk, leaves removed, sliced diagonally
- ⅓ cup hazelnuts with skin
- 4 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground all-spice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F. In a mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower florets with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay them out evenly in a baking pan and roast for 30 minutes until slightly golden and crunchy. Put them back in the mixing bowl and let them cool down to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, lower the oven heat to 170°C/340°F and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Spread the hazelnuts over the parchment paper and roast for 15 minutes until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- Chop the hazelnuts and add them to the mixing bowl with the cauliflower. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, chopped celery, parsley, cinnamon, all-spice, red wine vinegar and maple syrup. Mix to combine. Season with more salt and pepper if needed and serve at room temperature.
