Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Deeply caramelised cauliflower tossed with a lemony tahini dressing, herbs and a crunch of toasted almonds.
Ingredients & method
Method
Amounts inside the steps follow the servings dial, so you never have to hold the arithmetic in your head.
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Heat the oven
Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) and line a large baking tray.
A hot oven from the start is what caramelises the cauliflower instead of steaming it.
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Toss and season
Toss the 800 g Cauliflower with the 3 tbsp Olive oil, 3 Garlic cloves, 1 tsp Cumin, ½ tsp Chili flake, Salt to taste and Black pepper to taste directly on the tray.
Coating the florets in oil before they hit the heat is what lets them caramelise instead of drying out.
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Roast until charred at the edges
Spread the florets in a single layer and roast, turning once, until deeply golden and tender.
A crowded tray steams instead of roasts, so give the cauliflower room to brown.
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Whisk the tahini dressing
While the cauliflower roasts, whisk the 2 tbsp Tahini with the 1 Lemon juice and 2 tbsp Water until smooth and pourable.
Tahini seizes if lemon juice hits it all at once, so loosen it gradually with the water instead.
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Assemble the salad
Tip the warm cauliflower onto a platter, drizzle over the dressing, then scatter over the ¼ cup Parsley, 2 Scallions, 2 tbsp Almonds and 30 g Feta.
Dressing the cauliflower while it is still warm helps it soak up the tahini rather than the dressing just sitting on top.
About
Cauliflower's story starts not in India but around the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor, where wild brassicas were bred over generations into the tight, pale curd we know today; organized cultivation is traced back to Cyprus and the region now called Turkey as early as the sixth century BC.
It reached Italy through Genoese and Venetian trade routes by the 16th century, and Italian gardeners taught the rest of Europe to prize it, giving the vegetable its name via the Italian word for "cabbage flower." From there it travelled to England, where Victorian cooks turned it into the cheese-sauced side dish most familiar in Britain.
Roasting it hard, rather than boiling or drowning it in sauce, is a much newer habit, popularised over the last few decades by Mediterranean and Levantine kitchens that char the florets with oil and spice until the edges caramelize. This salad follows that lead, finishing the warm, smoky cauliflower with a lemony tahini dressing and herbs, in the style made popular by modern Middle Eastern-inspired cookbooks.
Cook’s notes
Cut the cauliflower into flat-sided pieces rather than small round florets – flat surfaces caramelize, round ones just steam.
If the tray looks crowded, use two trays instead of one; crowding is the single biggest reason roasted vegetables turn out soft instead of charred.
This salad is a good make-ahead: dress it up to a few hours in advance and leave it at room temperature, but add the almonds only just before serving so they stay crunchy.
Health benefits
- Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable, so it supplies vitamin C, vitamin K and glucosinolates that break down into sulforaphane, a compound studied for its antioxidant activity.
- It is naturally low in calories and carbohydrates for its volume, and roasting rather than boiling keeps more of its water-soluble vitamins intact.
- The tahini dressing adds calcium, plant protein and unsaturated fats, and the olive oil contributes monounsaturated fat, the type linked to better heart-health markers when it replaces saturated fat in the diet.
General information about the ingredients, not advice about you. Nothing here is a medical or dietary recommendation, and no dish treats or prevents any condition. If you are managing a health condition, pregnant, or on a prescribed diet, ask a doctor or a dietitian.
Cons & who should be cautious
- Cauliflower is a high-FODMAP food, so it can cause bloating or gas in people who are sensitive to it, and it is usually limited during a low-FODMAP elimination diet.
- Like other cruciferous vegetables, it contains goitrogens that can interfere with thyroid hormone production in very large amounts - mainly a concern for people with an existing thyroid condition, and one that cooking reduces.
- The tahini and almonds make this a dish to skip or adapt for anyone with a sesame or tree-nut allergy, and the feta adds saturated fat and sodium, so anyone managing blood pressure may want to use it sparingly or leave it out.
Not a complete allergen declaration. Ingredient lists describe what we used and cannot account for cross-contamination or what your particular brand contains, so check the packaging of everything you cook with.
Nutrition facts (estimated)
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