Skip to main content

chermoula spiced multi colored cauliflower salad


 What do you do when you've said, "no"to the same person so many times that you feel like a new approach is needed, like I'll get back to you, or say something that's not true- I did that or whatever when you haven't done anything at all.  Or you could try being honest and say I'm never going to say yes or do that thing that you keep asking me about, not going to happen in this lifetime.  I wish that everything in life would be as straight forward as making a salad, especially a salad that could be made ahead of time and brought to a potluck in a beautiful handmade pottery bowl.  Should you tell people at the potluck that you made the bowl yourself?  In your pottery studio overlooking the Pacific Ocean ??  Probably should draw a line on that one, I don't know, maybe you could give it a try.  Or you could share that you made up the recipe while doing brain surgery.  Might be a good way to make some crazy new friends because the people you know already know you and they won't buy the pottery studio or brain surgery thing.  

Chermoula is a Moroccan marinade that packs spice (garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, cilantro) into a healthy diet; especially good on this cauliflower salad and also can be used for chicken which we are all sick of most of the time and can be so boring for dinner.  If I can find a head of purple cauliflower, I roast it together with the basic, lowly, common, cauliflower and add it to the salad.


for the salad

1 large head of cauliflower or 2 smaller ones that include a purple cauliflower, cut into florets

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, enough to drizzle over the cauliflower

1/2 red onion, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup raisins

2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons sliced toasted almonds

Preheat the oven to 400F

Line a baking sheet with parchment, spread out the cauliflower(s) and drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  Bake for about 15 minutes, add the onion slices and stir the mixture.  Roast until tender and everything is slightly charred on the edges (10-15 more minutes).  Remove from oven and set aside to cool 

for the chermoula

Leaves from a bunch of cilantro, 2 tablespoons set aside 

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Process all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, scraping down as needed.  Place the chermoula in a salad bowl, add the roasted cauliflower, onions, carrots and raisins.  Toss the salad together, check seasoning-adding additional salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle the top with cilantro and almonds.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4-6

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

springtime chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing

 Good grief, Easter is in the rear view mirror and we are deep into this new year.  And once again it's tea time at my house.  This chamomile tea cake is a beautiful sweet addition to any tea ritual, especially my favorite, chamomile tea, which I rediscovered in my hotel room in Carmel earlier this fast moving year.  I highly recommend a slice of chamomile tea cake with strawberry 🍓 icing with a cup of chamomile tea to just take a moment and slow this year down.  Baking with tea is both creative and fun.  Earlier this year I made Earl Gray sugar cookies which are made using the same method of infusing the butter with loose tea.  For my tea cake I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar -another way to lend a pop of citrus to your baking. The strawberry icing is made using freeze dried strawberries, I pulverize them in my spice mill and then they are pressed through a fine sieve into the confectioner's sugar.  In addition to using lemon zest rub...

braised romano beans with heirloom tomatoes and purple leaf sweet basil

  Romano beans braised in heirloom tomato sauce, shallots and garlic make an easy summer side dish -excellent served with grilled fish and potato purée.  I know because that's what we had for dinner last Saturday night.  I happily used purple basil from my own herb pots that are now watered with leftover shower water.  We have many more months of drought ahead of us in California and apparently mask wearing when in public, no not in the car. I appreciate our farmers markets more than ever, thank you farmers for romano beans and heirloom tomatoes and also myself for the fresh purple basil. Such a treat to find fresh romano green beans at the farmers market; they hold up to a fairly long, about 20 minute braise and become tender in the tomato broth from the heirloom tomatoes.  🍅 This is one of those simple good veg recipes. Ingredients and Recipe for Romano Beans with Heirloom Tomatoes and Purple Leaf Sweet Basil Serves 2-4 1 pound fresh romano beans, washed...

artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade

artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade serves 6 We spent last weekend with friends at their country home.  They made dinner at home one night so  I brought a couple of appetizers to share.  My tapenade is easy to make, just spoon the blended artichoke mix into a terrine then pack in an ice chest for a short road trip.  I like to serve it spread on small crisp crackers but toasted sliced baguette works well too.  Save a sprinkle of capers for the top of your tapenade before serving and enjoy. recipe for artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade  serves 6 One 14 ounce jar of artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and cut into quarters 1/3 cup pitted green olives, I like Castelvetrano green olives 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons capers, plus extra for sprinkling on top 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice  2 cloves garlic, minced Aleppo pepper to taste, I use a scant 1/4 teaspoon Sea salt to taste Place the artichokes, olives, olive oil, capers,...