Roasted Cauliflower & Giant Couscous Salad

Not your average roasted cauliflower salad, this crowd pleasing salad hits all the spots with zingy Zhoug dressing and optional crispy shallots. Giant couscous, also called Israeli couscous is the real star here. Give it a go!

This is substantial salad and it can easily be served as the main dish maybe with some toasted pita breads on the side and maybe a hummus.

food processor or small blender

• 1 large cauliflower broken into florets, reserving any leaves
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 300g giant couscous
• 1 lemon zest and juiced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 4 tablespoons dried fruit (I used sour cherries) *
• small bunch flat leaf parsley chopped
• olive oil

Zhoug

• 1/2 bunch coriander chopped
• small green chilli chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 garlic clove, minced

Crispy Onions (opt)

• 2 large onions sliced into rounds
• 2 cups almond milk (you can use any milk)
• 1 cup plain flour (you can use plain too)
• salt

1. Heat the oven to 200c, toss the cauliflower florets and red onion slices with turmeric and 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper making sure that the cauliflower is well coated. Spread on a large non-stick baking tray and cook for 25minutes (adding the leaves for the last 15minutes) until the cauliflower is tender and a little caramelised around the edges. Leave to cool completely
2. Simmer the couscous in boiling salted water until just tender, then drain well. Tip into a large bowl and add the lemon zest and juice and season with olive oil, the garlic, dried fruit and lots of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3. ZHOUG: Put all the zhoug ingredients into a small blender with some seasoning and a few tablespoons of water. Whizz until smooth and vibrant green. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
4. ONIONS: add the sliced onions to your milk of choice and let it soak for about 10 minutes . Add the flour into a small bowl and season with salt and pepper (you could add some smoked paprika her). Take the soaked onions and add them to the flour, making sure they are all fully coated. Add enough oil to a small saucepan to cover a small batch of onions, and when hot enough (see note) add the onions in small batches and fry until golden and crisp. Drain on some kitchen paper and sprinkle some salt, fry until all the onions are done.
5. ASSEMBLE: Add the cauliflower, chopped parsley and couscous to a large bowl and gently toss, have a last taste for seasoning. Drizzle some zhoug over the platter and scatter with the crispy fried onions and pine nuts.

When frying anything to become crisp it is important to get the oil to the right temperature. You can test this by simply placing a small piece of bread (or whatever you are frying) into the oil and the bread should start to bubble immediately.

Dried Fruit: you can use any dried fruit that you have hanging about, I find sour cherries, cranberries, raisons and apricots work well in salads.