Persian Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Salad
A beautiful and interesting salad with Middle Eastern spiced and roasted cauliflower, a fresh mixture of herbs and topped with some roasted nuts and a unique dressing of pomegranate molasses.
I topped the salad with CRUNCHY QUINOA which honestly is the most delicious and addictive topping you can make. You can find the recipe here. You can find my little insta video here.
My idea of the perfect salad, colourful, lots of textures and full of flavour!
You can find pomegranate molasses online here and from any good delis.
Perfect Make Ahead Lunch Bowl: add a speedy rocket salad to your bowl for a fibre fix. The addition of feta will good. Add some salad toppers too with Toasted Nuts & Seeds and also Spiced chickpeas.
Getting Ahead: All the individual elements of the salad can be be made a day or two ahead, I would only toss everything together once ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions: Would be magical served with a vibrant beetroot hummus and a quick flatbread or Middle Eastern inspired focaccia on the side.
Persian Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large or two small cauliflowers trimmed and broken into bitesized florets
- 2 cups coriander leaves picked roughly chopped
- 1 cup mint leaves picked roughly chopped
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup dill fonds
- juice of 1 limes
- zest of two limes
- 80 g flaked almonds
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
Spice Mixture
- 4 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 cup olive oil or more
- 2 teaspoons salt
Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup pomegranate Molasses *
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic minced
- pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon reserved spice marinade as above
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c
- Spread almonds on an oven tray and roast until golden, 5-6 minutes, set aside to cool.
- Increase the heat to 220c
- For the spice mix, dry roast whole spices (cloves, in a small frying pan over high heat until fragrant, stirring the pan the whole time, grind in a spice grinder or in a mortar and pestle until fine. Add the ground turmeric and stir, add enough olive oil until a paste forms. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Reserve 1/2 teaspoon for the dressing.
- Place the cauliflower in a bowl. Add the spice mix and toss to combine trying to get into all the nook and crannies of the cauliflower florets. If you mind yellow hands wear some gloves : )
- Scatter the cauliflower on a oven dish (or two) and roast until the cauliflower is golden and crispy, around 20 minutes, leave to cool completely.
- Place all the dressing ingredients together in a jar and shake well taste and season.
- To serve, place your cooled cauliflower in a large mixing bowl, add the cooked quinoa, add 1/2 the dressing and toss to coat, season with the lime zest and juice, scatter all the herbs over the salad and top with the pomegranate seeds. Toss the salad well. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the salad and scatter over the flaked almonds.
