This delicous salad is one of my go-to accompaniments for a BBQ, but sometimes I can eat it just by itself!
Along with my teriyaki cauliflower, this is another of my favourite cauliflower dishes. I have been making it for many years and it’s a regular guest when I have a BBQ. The roasting of the florets really brings out a better flavour than simply steaming them.
There are many other goodies in this salad: capers, walnuts (just as they are or lightly toasted in a dry pan for a few minutes), pickled gherkins (or use a few slices of my pickled cucumbers) and pomegranate seeds.
With these, you get added bursts of colour, textural highlights and the vibrant tang of sharp and sour notes among the rich creaminess of the dressing. However, if you strip it back to just the roasted cauliflower and the dressing you still have a gorgeous salad.
The dressing is quite thick: almost mayo consistency – and it also works well as a dip in its own right! I tend to have a “bed” of it on the plate onto which the roasted cauliflower and the other goodies get added.
If you prefer a runnier dressing, you can add a little warm water to thin it down and then drizzle it over the cauliflower.
The dish is at its best served at room temperature so the flavours can really come alive!
Recipe: roasted cauliflower salad with tahini dressing – serves 4-6
Cauliflower:
- 1 large cauliflower, split into small florets
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Dressing:
- 100g Greek yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- juice of 1 lemon (keep the zest for sprinkling over the salad)
- 1 fat clove of garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- a few grinding of black pepper
To finish:
- a couple tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- about 50g walnuts, roughly crushed
- about 4” cucumber, cut into small strips
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- a tablespoon or so of pickled cucumber or gherkin
- a small red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
- about a tablespoon of flat-leaf parley, chopped
- about of tablespoon of freshly chopped or shredded mint leaves
(1) Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and toss the cauliflower florets in the oil and salt. Roast for about 35-40 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and has lovely brown tinges. This can be done a day or two in advance and left, covered, in the fridge until needed.
(2) Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together to give a smooth mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed: add a little more garlic for a punchier dressing or more lemon for a sharper dressing.
(3) Spoon most of the dressing on a large plate and roughly smooth it out. Add the cauliflower on top and the scatter on the remaining ingredients. Alternatively, mix the roasted cauliflower with the other ingredients.
(4) When serving, you can either add a tablespoon or so of warm water to the rest of the dressing to loosen it and drizzle a little over when serving or serve the remaining dressing on the side, perhaps with a few pomegranate seeds scattered over.
