Roasted cauliflower is a total rebranding for an otherwise pretty uninspiring vegetable. Despite what Instagram is trying to tell me I remain unconvinced about cauliflowers’ ability to sub in as a pizza base or as rice, but roasted it becomes a thing of total delight. This salad makes for a delicious and filling workday lunch and will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

Roasted cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, chickpea & parsley salad

 

For the dressing:

juice of a lemon 

extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons

Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon

brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon

sea salt a pinch

freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients into a jar with lid and give it a good shake.

For the salad:

cauliflower 1 large

Brussels sprouts 500g

cooked chickpeas 2 cups

almonds 1/2 cup

currants 1/4 cup

flat leaf parsley a large bunch

Preheat oven to 200°C. Wash cauliflower and cut into florets about 5cm in size. Wash the Brussels sprouts, remove any discoloured outer leaves and cut in half. Place cauliflower and sprouts onto a large baking tray with sides, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Roast the veges for about 20 minutes, giving the contents of the tray a stir a couple of times to make sure everything browns evenly. Add the chickpeas and roast for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Put almonds in a small ovenproof dish and toast in oven for about 5 minutes; keep an eye on them! Once the almonds are toasted, roughly chop them up.

Pick the parsley leaves from the thick woody stems (the softer stems at the ends are fine to eat). Place the leaves into a salad spinner and shake off the excess water.

Place roasted mixture, currants into a large bowl, add the parsley leaves and pour over the dressing. Ready for eating or cover and refrigerate until lunchtime.