New year, new salad. Isn’t that how it usually goes?
I was big into cauliflower in 2013, and even though that’s like, so last year, I’m sticking with the stuff. I like eating raw florets dipped in Trader Joe’s cilantro & lime yogurt dip (which, for those of you who don’t know, is the bomb dot com), though I also enjoy finding ways to get it all roasty toasty in the oven, too.
This here is a roasty toasty application. (That’s a thing.)
I’ve got a lot of big, exciting, scary things on the horizon for 2014. There will be a 30th birthday. There will be a cookbook. There may be a trip or two. My stomach is flopping and my fingers are crossed for it all.
But today? Today, there will be cauliflower and chickpea salad. It’s a start.
Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 small heads cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets (about 6 cups florets, total)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- a pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup sliced green olives
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
Directions:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the cauliflower florets with the olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes and salt, and spread out on a sheet pan. Roast the cauliflower until browned and charred in spots, about 20 minutes, stirring the pan halfway through cooking.
While the cauliflower roasts, combine the chickpeas and olives in a large bowl. Once cauliflower is roasted, add it, still warm, to the bowl with the chickpeas and olives. Stir in the chopped parsley, lemon juice and sesame oil, and season to taste with extra salt and pepper.
Enjoy the salad warm or at room temperature.
The salad will keep, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Makes about 8 cups.