I wasn’t just going on and on about the Chickpea in the previous post for the fun of it! 🙂 I am absolutely enamored by this main dish salad. It’s full of fantastic good for you ingredients: Spinach, Chickpeas, Olives and Oven Roasted Cauliflower and is set off beautifully by the home-made dressing.
Oven Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad
I’ve adapted this from a Fine Cooking Magazine I picked up at the airport last year on a visit to Georgia and have been making both the Chickpeas with Bay and Herbs and this Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad ever since. Fine Cooking was smart and suggested making a pot of their Chickpeas with Bay and Herbs and using them in an assortment of dishes, including the one this salad was inspired by.
The original recipe had chicken, but this salad stands as it’s own main dish in terms of protein and “satiety” factors. It also originally had arugula, a pricey ingredient in my neck of the woods, so in goes the less expensive and more readily available spinach.
Oven Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad
I have started upping the flavor factors a bit in this salad – the Oven Roasted Cauliflower gets sprinkled with a bit of Michael Chiarello’s Fennel Spice Rub and a zippier salad dressing makes sure that the flavor isn’t lost in a sea of milder ingredients. A few thinly sliced red onions add in a little bite, too, that was missing.
You can’t go wrong with this salad if serving vegetarians or if just looking for something a bit healthier to eat. Try as is, or add your own variations – you’ll love it…and might forget to ask “Where’s the Beef?” The chicken originally used in this recipe was just a simple oven-roasted chicken, but a few pieces of leftover chicken would work, too, if you want add it in.
Oven Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad
Oven Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into 2″ pieces
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper)
- Fennel Spice Rub to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
- a few thin slices of red onion to strew across the top of salad (reserved from red onion used in dressing)
- 2 cups Chickpeas with Bay and Herbs
- 1/2 cup of green olives (preferably Picholine) pitted and sliced
- 1/4 cup flat leaf parslely, chopped
- 5 ounces (about five cups) fresh Spinach
- Red Onion Vinaigrette
Position rack in upper third of oven, preheat to 425 degrees. For easy cleanup, line an oven tray or cookie sheet with foil. Place cauliflower on foil, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with Fennel Spice Rub and salt and pepper. Roast about 20 – 25 minutes until cauliflower is lightly golden and to desired tenderness.
Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing, serve immediately. If making ahead, toss all ingredients together and add the spinach last minute.
Notes:
- May use canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained.
- Feel free to use your favorite spice mixture ob the cauliflower.
- Do try the Red Onion Vinaigrette on this salad – it really sets it off to perfection!
From the kitchen of http://www.frugalhausfrau.com
Red Onion Vinaigrette
I’ll be toting this recipe along to Fiesta Friday #88, hosted this week by Julie @ Hostess At Heart and Liz @ spades, spatulas & spoons . Thank you, Angie of the Novice Gardener, as usual, for putting on this party!
I’ll be bringing it, too, over to Throwback Thursday. Quinn of Dad What’s 4 Dinner and Alli from Tornadough host this blogging extravaganza
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