21.10.16

roast cauliflower salad with eggplant hummus & walnut dukkah

Good morning from a chilly, clear-skied Kinloch (just down the road from Taupo). I’m going to make this quick as I am staying with my lovely sister and her fam and the plan is to go boating shortly, so I have just made myself a cup of tea and snuck back to bed for 5 minutes. This recipe is a great one for the long weekend, perfect to serve along side roast lamb or chicken with a pile of couscous – with a bit of a springy vibe, but still nurturing and earthy. The cauliflower is roasted with honey, olive oil and cumin so has a lovely slightly nutty aromatic flavour. It is then layered up with sweet sticky dates, fresh mint, smooth creamy Greek yoghurt and topped off with spicy home made dukkah. The pomegranate seeds at the end add a vibrant lemony zing – but if you can’t get your hands on a pomegranate finely grated lemon zest will do the trick 🙂 It is served on a big smear of homemade (super easy) eggplant hummus, so that as you scoop up the cauliflower you get all of that lovely extra texture and flavour along with the salad. If you make couscous to go alongside, stir through some caramelised onion, drizzle with a little olive oil and top with loads of chopped parsley or coriander and toasted walnuts or pine nuts – add your roast and dinner is sorted!Right, must get up. I am planning a grand water skiing come back. Given my last attempt was aged ten, and I spent most of the time skiing under water (I kid you not), this should be interesting. Wish me luck….

Roast Cauliflower Salad:
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
850grams large cauliflower florets (1 large cauliflower)
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoons chopped dates
1/2 cup mint leaves
½ cup coriander leaves
½ cup Greek yoghurt (thinned with a little water to desired consistency)
1 pomegranate (optional)
1 cup eggplant hummus (see recipe below or use store bought)
3 tablespoons dukkah (see recipe or use store bought)

Preheat the oven to 200ËšC. Mix the oil, honey, salt and ground cumin together in a small microwave safe jug. Heat for 20 seconds and whisk so that it is well combined. Put the cauliflower florets in a large roasting dish and drizzle with the oil. Toss to coat, and spread the florets, as much as possible into a single layer. Sprinkle with the chilli flakes and cumin seeds and roast for 20-25 minutes (or until lightly golden and soft), turning twice during cooking. Leave the cauliflower to cool in the pan. To serve, spoon half of the hummus onto a serving plate and use the back of a tablespoon to spread it out. Layer the cauliflower, dates and fresh herbs onto the plate. Drizzle with yoghurt, and sprinkle over pomegranate seeds and dukkah and serve with remaining hummus on the side.

The easiest way to extract the seeds from the pomegranate is to cut it in half then hold the half over a bowl, cut side down. Use a heavy wooden spoon to thwack the back of the pomegranate so that the seeds pop out into the bowl. Serves 6

Walnut dukkah:
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 ½ cups walnuts
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup pine nuts

olive oil spray

You can make this recipe either by baking on separate trays in the oven, or in two lots in a large frying pan.  Put the cumin and coriander seeds, ground cumin, salt and chilli flakes into a large frying pan and cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes until fragrant. Tip from the pan into a small food processor and allow to cool. Add the walnuts and pumpkin seeds to the unwashed frying pan and cook over a medium heat for 1 minute, add the pine nuts and cook a further 1-2 minutes until the nuts and seeds are lightly toasted and golden, then leave to cool. Whiz the cooled spices in the food processor until fine then add the nuts and seeds and pulse to your desired consistency. I like my dukkah quite chunky and even leave out a few of the nuts and seeds and add them back in after, so that they remain whole. Store in an airtight container once cool. Makes 2 cups

 

Eggplant Hummus:
2 medium eggplants
2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt

 

Preheat the oven to 220ËšC and line an oven tray with baking paper. Use a small sharp knife to poke little slits all over the eggplants (about 8 little cuts on each). Bake for 45 minutes or until soft. Leave the eggplants to cool for 15 minutes, then cut them lengthways and scoop the flesh out into the bowl of a food processor. It doesn’t matter if a little of the skin makes it’s way in too. Add all of the remaining ingredients and whiz until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the fridge once cool. Makes 3 1/2 – 4 cups

4 comments

  1. Looks super fresh & tasty. I've never tried roasted cauliflower at home but this is very tempting. Good luck with the water skiing, you have way more courage than me and it's a chilly wind here so imagine it'll be cooler down there.

    Reply

  2. Hi Sarah,
    I love your recipes and I also recently became a Tuck myself, getting married earlier this year 🙂
    Last week the asparagus fritters went down a treat in our house and tonight I'm doing this cauliflower salad (although using Annabel Langbein's dukkah recipe as I don't have walnuts, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts…ha)
    My other favs of yours include the onion soup, okonomiyake and beef/bacon/onion/mozzarella pie.
    Keep up the good work and I look forward to next weeks recipe(s?)! 🙂
    Anna

    Reply

  3. Hi Anna – congratulations on getting married! Thank you so much for leaving a message, it is such a treat to know what you are cooking and enjoying – yay! 🙂

    Reply

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