This is a Roasted Cauliflower Salad from Yotam Ottolenghi’s popular cookbook, Jerusalem. A unique combination of ingredients comes together in a salad that’s just 100% yum: celery, hazelnuts, lots of parsley with a subtly spiced dressing. It’s seriously delicious!
Welcome to Day 16 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, where I’m sharing 30 salads in a row through to Christmas Eve. Something different to the usual sugar-loaded baking countdowns!!
Today, we’re cauliflowering:
Roasted Cauliflower Salad
I first shared this Cauliflower Salad way back when I started this website in 2014. It’s a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, from his wildly popular cookbook Jerusalem which I recently admitted I was embarrassed to rate as my #1 cookbook because it’s soooooo obvious. I really hoped to share something more groundbreaking as my most-used cookbook, but alas no. 😂
But, it is worthy in its place as #1, and this cauliflower salad recipe is a good example why. Unique combination but simple, and very, very delicious.
Cauliflower is a sensational vegetable to roast, transforming from bland and dry to sweet and juicy. When hot, it’s also a sponge for flavour which makes it a terrific ingredient for salads as it absorbs the flavour of dressings.
Ottolenghi’s Cauliflower Salad ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this salad:
A couple of useful “Good To Know” tutorials might help out here:
How I cut cauliflower florets quickly & efficiently with minimal mess!
How to remove pomegranate seeds – contained in this Pomegranate Salad recipe (there’s fun factor involved!)
And though I do provide directions for how to roast the cauliflower, if you’d like to see a (short!) tutorial video it’s contained in a separate Roasted Cauliflower recipe (along with an extra flavouring option – Parmesan Crunch!!)
While this has Middle Eastern roots, the spicing in this is quite subtle so don’t just restrict yourself to serving this alongside Arabic and Persian foods. It would be just as at home at a backyard BBQ as it would a blow out Arabian Nights Feast.
Light enough to be a side dish alongside grand roasts, yet substantial and certainly interesting enough to have as a meal in itself.
Try it. It will surprise you! – Nagi x
What is the Holiday Salad Marathon?
This is my inaugural Christmas recipe countdown where I am sharing 30 salad recipes in a row until Christmas Eve – something completely different to people’s usual baking countdowns!
These salads are in addition to my regular 3 new recipes a week. Because aren’t you bored of the usual tomato-cucumber-lettuce garden salad routine??
Click here to see all the Holiday Salad Marathon recipes to date, or sign up for instant updates and you’ll receive a free email alert whenever I publish a new salad! 🙂
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Yotam Ottolenghi’s Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 large cauliflower or 2 small , cut/broken into florets (~650g / 1.3 lb florets)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Salad:
- 1 celery stalk , cut into 0.5cm / 0.3" slices on the diagonal
- 1/3 cup hazelnuts , raw, skin on
- 1/2 pomegranate , seeds only (~1/3 cup)
- 1 cup parsley leaves , lightly packed
Dressing
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 tsp cinnamon powder (Note 2)
- 1/3 tsp allspice (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup (or honey or golden syrup)
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
Roast Cauliflower:
- Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan).
- Toss cauliflower with oil, salt and pepper. Spread on tray, roast 20 minutes, turn, then roast for a further 5 to 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the cauliflower is cooked through. Don't let it get overcooked, sad and soggy!
- Transfer to bowl and let cool for 20 minutes.
Toast Hazelnuts:
- Turn oven down to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan). Spread hazelnuts on tray then roast for 5 minutes until they smell amazing.
- Cool slightly, then roughly chop (most skin will naturally fall off).
Salad:
- Place hazelnuts, parsley and celery into the bowl. Sprinkle over cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, maply syrup and vinegar. Toss gently with hands or rubber spatula.
- Plate up: Taste, add more salt or pepper if needed. Transfer to serving bowl. Scatter over pomegranates. Serve at room temperature.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2014. Updated with much needed new photos and tidied up the recipe writing in December 2020!
More cauliflower recipes
Life of Dozer
You cannot even begin to imagine how much sand this coat of fur holds – until you’re sprayed with it yourself.
Hey Nagi. What nuts could I substitute for hazelnuts? Hate them 🙊 And almonds too 🙈 ps You’re Vietnamese Chicken Salad is amazing! Making it tomorrow…again 😁
Hi Preets, try macadamias or even pecans! They will work nicely here! N x
Thanks!
Thank you for another delicious recipe, Nagi! I love roasted cauliflower so one more way to serve it is just what I needed.
I was a little unsure about the celery but it actually complemented other flavors very nicely. I used toasted almonds instead of hazelnuts.
It was so good that I already put cauliflower on my shopping list, there will be a repeat 😁
This dish is sooo good! Even my non veggie lovers liked it!Thinki might have to invest in the cookbook!
That cookbook is amazing. I’ve wanted to make this recipe, but I’m on a budget..I love pomegranates, the taste, the color, the appearance, but where I live they cost a ton. Any thoughts on substitutes? Thanks 🙂 And awesome website! You’re killing it!
Made this for Christmas dinner – it was very good. There is so much cooking of everything else that it was nice to have a good salad that could be made beforehand. A good recipe for cauliflower.
Wow, so delicious and tasty.
Hi Nagi, planning to take this to Christmas lunch! I’m just wondering if I should dress it at home or wait until we arrive? I would usually wait so things don’t get soggy but you mention the cauliflower absorbing flavour better when hot – would love any advice!
Dress it! This salad is even better on day two! N x
Another winning recipe Nagi. This salad was so fresh and delicious, perfect for dinner on a hot muggy Sydney day. Didn’t have hazelnuts so used flaked almonds instead – worked well.
Hi Nagi,
I made this salad this afternoon without celery but it still tasted delicious! All your recipes are so good. Thanks so much for the variety of dishes and the videos are a real blessing too!
I paired this salad with lamb for dinner and I absolutely loved as did my husband
Hi Nagi, can l replace the sherry vinegar with apple cider vinegar?
Hi Charlotte, yes that or red whine vinegar will work well. N x
Thanks.
Hi Nagi, how can I prepare this ahead or how can I reheat this?
Hi Eunice, this salad is eaten at room temp so no need to reheat as such. It’s great eaten on the day and still ok eaten a day after! N x
Love seeing Dozer, he is totally awesome, fantastic photos of him. Loving hugs and pats for him. 🙂
Excellent, exceptional, delicious, and awesome recipes as always. 🙂
looks so delicious, curious about it’s taste.
Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!
Hi Nagi
Just navigated to this recipe via your Arabian Feast & thought you might like to update your bread description to ‘with croutons’ as that is what the pieces look like in your photo with the cauliflower.
OOPS! Thank you! N xx
Great recipe! Filling and delicious 🙂
Thanks Chelsey! N x