Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower and Arugula Salad
Despite my best intentions, most of the roasted cauliflower I cook doesn’t make it past the sheet pan.
I always start out with a loftier goal, turning those sweet, caramelized florets into soup, or stuffing them into a pita, shawarma style — or, at the very least, putting them on a plate and maybe garnishing with some chopped herbs.
But then I’ll sample one or two, you know, for quality control. Before I know it, I’ve devoured half a sheet pan’s worth standing over the stove, snatching the golden, olive oil-slicked pieces one by one, fingertips burning. For a committed cauliflower admirer, a pan full of hot, roasted florets is just too seductive to resist.
For this recipe, I was determined to turn those lacyedged pieces into a dish I could share.
The key was to assemble all the other components while the cauliflower was still in the oven. With everything else at the ready when the florets came out, I’d have more of an incentive to exercise restraint — and knowing that I’d put work into the rest of the dish would make it easier to ignore.
I’d had my heart set on a hearty, warm salad, something satisfying enough to give cauliflower a starring role, but light and full of colorful vegetables, with a flavor zesty enough to offset the usual gray bleakness of February’s depths.
Another good thing about cauliflower is that, once roasted, it becomes gentle enough to work with a multitude of flavors, whether rich and creamy cheeses, yogurt, salty pickles or sweet dried fruit.
I chose the sweet-andsour route by soaking golden raisins and slivers of red onion in lime juice for as long as it took the cauliflower to cook — in effect creating an easy quick pickle with a pleasantly chewy texture.
This bright, satisfying salad works as a substantial side dish or a light main course, either rounded out with crusty bread or served on top of a bed of rice, farro or other grains. — By Melissa Clark
Yield: 4servings
Total time: 55minutes
1 large cauliflower (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), cut into 1-inch florets
6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tsp. fine salt
1 teaspoon garam masala 1/4 ttp. ground cayenne 1 large red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced into half-moons 3tablespoons drained capers
2 teaspoons cumin seeds 1/3 cup golden raisins (or substitute another dried 1. Heat oven to 425degrees. On a rimmed sheet pan, toss cauliflower with 2tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, garam masala and cayenne. Spread out the florets and roast for 15minutes. 2. Put about two-thirds of the sliced red onion, the capers, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt into a small bowl; drizzle with a little olive oil. Add mixture to the cauliflower and toss well. Roast for another 25to 28 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are browned and tender. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.
3. While the cauliflower is roasting, place the raisins in a small heatproof bowl (you can use the same bowl you used for the onions) and top with enough boiling water to cover. Let soak until they are soft (up to 15minutes if your raisins were rock hard to start with). Drain well and return to the bowl.
4. Add remaining onion to the raisins. Toss with 1 tablespoon lime juice and a large pinch of salt.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and as much black pepper as you like. Whisk until emulsified, then taste and add more salt if needed.
6. When ready to serve, in a large salad bowl, toss together the arugula, parsley leaves, slightly cooled cauliflower mixture, pickled raisin and red onion mixture, and half of the lime dressing. Toss well, adding more dressing to taste.