This warming winter salad serves 4-6 as a generous side dish or could easily work as a stand alone lunch. It pairs particularly well with rotisserie poussin and could also make a great meal served with fried or roast potatoes and slices of cold roast beef or ham.
Salad ingredients:
Light olive oil or sunflower oil for shallow frying
1 medium-sized cauliflower, cut into florets
4 large banana shallots, finely sliced
100g whole blanched almonds
40g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon coriander, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Pangritata:
2 flat breads, roughly torn
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
50ml light olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
Dressing:
Juice of 2 lemons
200g crème fraiche or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 160˚c
First make the pangritata – in a bowl, mix the torn flat breads with the garlic, olive oil, salt and lemon zest. Spread out on to a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool, then break up into small pieces and set aside.
For the salad, heat 2cm of light olive oil in a wide saucepan over a medium heat until shimmering. Add the cauliflower florets and fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel. In the same oil fry the shallots until golden. Remove and drain on kitchen towel. Allow to cool.
In a separate small pan, over a medium heat, melt the butter and add the almonds. Keep watching as these will cook quickly. Remove when lightly browned and drain on kitchen towel. Allow to cool.
For the dressing, in a bowl whisk the crème fraiche, lemon juice and cumin together. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
To assemble, toss the cauliflower, almonds and onions together in a bowl and add the coriander and parsley. Arrange on a large plate and spoon over the dressing. Top with the pangritata and serve at room temperature.