Roasted Cauliflower Hazelnut Salad

I love eating this spiced cauliflower salad at the holidays. It's filled with juicy pomegranates, crunchy hazelnuts, fresh parsley, and crisp celery.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the US release of Ottolenghi’s newest book, Jerusalem… So I couldn’t have been more excited the day it showed up on my doorstep last week.

I don’t know how you like to approach a new cookbook, but I like to start with a fast flip… trying to devour as much as I can all at one time. Later on during my second pass, I’ll settle down and take in the stories, reading through the recipes much more carefully than I did the first time around…

This time I fast-flipped, intently looking to see if this recipe would be included. On our last afternoon in London, we went to Ottolenghi’s Islington restaurant just prior to racing off to the airport. The wait for a table was too long and it was a (lucky) gorgeous sunny day, so we got piles of takeaway food and had a picnic in a nearby park.

Which sounds picturesque… and really it was… only I wanted to try so many things, and we were incredibly short on time. In 20 minutes or less, we consumed pounds of food…  a tomato and burrata salad, roasted beets, green beans & peas, kohlrabi slaw, a couple of sweet pistachio & polenta cakes… and this roasted cauliflower salad, which was our favorite.

For a glimpse of the book, watch this trailer with Yotam and Sami, and start drooling.
Or take a look at this pdf preview of the book which includes a few recipes.

xoxo to Ten Speed Press for sending me an advance copy.

From Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. The book comes out in the U.S. tomorrow, October 16th.

5.0 from 7 reviews

Roasted Cauliflower Hazelnut Salad

 

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Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Serves: 2-4 as a side

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 5 tablespoons hazelnuts, with skins
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1½ teaspoon maple syrup
• Generous ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Generous ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 large celery stalk, cut on an angle into ¼-inch slices
• ⅓ cup flat leaf parsley leaves
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
2. Place the cauliflower on a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle with 1-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and toss with some salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25-35 minutes until parts of it are turning golden brown. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool down.
3. Decrease the oven temperature to 325 F. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I used the same one as the cauliflower, just switched the paper) and roast for 17 minutes (although depending on your oven, I suggest watching these closely, mine were burnt at 17 minutes, and I took my second try out around 10 minutes).
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the sherry vinegar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and allspice. Set aside.
5. Allow the nuts to cool a little, then coarsely chop them and add to the cauliflower, along with the pomegranate seeds, celery, parsley, and the dressing. Stir, taste, and season with salt and pepper accordingly.

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