Roasted cauliflower pomegranate salad

Roasted cauliflower pomegranate salad is the easiest salad, side dish or complete meal that you ever had. Can you believe it takes only 30 minutes to make it? You will love this three-ingredient salad. Simple, yet rich in flavour and texture.

Moreover, would you ever have thought that roasted cauliflower, fun, juicy pomegranate seeds and fresh mint leaves make such an amazing combination? Look at the photo. Is this a summer or a winter salad? I would say both. Wink. Moreover, the colours are so inviting. They make me think of Italy or Mexico or even Christmas.

Not only you’ll find it beautiful and tasty, but you’ll be eating healthy as well. It’s a win-win situation. Most people always think that Vitamin C is only in citrus fruits. Wrong. You can find it in all kinds of vegetables such as broccoli, red peppers, Brussels sprouts (btw, check my Brussels sprouts tart recipe) and of course in cauliflower.

Besides being healthy, cauliflower can be very versatile too. In fact, you can cook it, mash it, grill it, roast it, fry it, you can make pizza dough, rice, bread or a tart. Yeah, the list is long. Take a look at my cauliflower crust Cottage pie or cauliflower crust red pesto tart. If you love soups, then check this cauliflower pear soup. Or maybe you’ll love the cauliflower hash and pizza.

Pomegranate is an amazing fruit

And what about pomegranate? I love this fruit. It’s red, round and fun. The juicy red seeds inside it are amazing, a little sour yet healthy. However, a lot of people might find cutting and cleaning it time-consuming. Try cleaning them in a bowl of water (check out this recipe how to clean a pomegranate properly) to avoid all the mess. I suggest doing this in advance (before cooking).

I prepared this roasted cauliflower pomegranate salad for lunch as a main dish. In addition to this lovely salad, I made some crispy okra and some lovely Naan bread. Oh, my mouth is watering only thinking about it. Wink.

In fact, you can add stir-fried okra as a crunch. There is never enough crunch, is it? Then, the Naan bread goes great with every salad (check out my radicchio salad). It’s also a wonderful idea to serve with cold meat antipasti, cheese platter, a delicious creamy hummus or with a bowl of soup. Oh, I love to “clean” the last drop of the salad dressing with this bread. You should also prepare this bread in advance (see „How to make Naan bread“).

Ingredients for 2 portions of roasted cauliflower pomegranate salad:

• ½ large cauliflower head or 1 small
• olive oil (plus some for the dressing)
• salt and pepper
• ½ pomegranate (cleaned)
• fresh mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp apple vinegar
• optional 10-12 okras (1 small onion, 1 small garlic)

First of all, preheat your oven to 200º C.

Start with cleaning and cutting the cauliflower into small florets. Then place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper (maybe with some turmeric as well) and toss, in order to cover most of the florets. Put the baking sheet in the oven (on the middle rack) and bake for 30 minutes or until golden-brown.

In the meantime, you can prepare the crispy okra (or, in case you skip this step, just relax). Wash the okra and dry it completely, using a paper towel. Then, cut it into 1 cm pieces and before frying it, dry it one more time. In a frying pan, heat some oil. Once it gets hot, add the okra rounds, some chopped onions and garlic. Stir fry until crispy.

Furthermore, in a small bowl, prepare the dressing. I used simple ingredients like olive oil, apple vinegar, salt and pepper. You can use any vinegar you like. I think a lovely berry vinegar would also go great with this roasted cauliflower pomegranate salad.

Once the cauliflower gets golden-brown and tender, transfer it into your serving bowls and toss with the salad dressing. Then, add the red pomegranate seeds and some fresh mint leaves. Actually, you can pick any mint. Strawberry mint would be amazing! Maybe next time.

Finally, serve the crispy okra in a glass with a spoon. Like that, everyone can add the desired amount to the roasted cauliflower pomegranate salad. Don’t forget the fluffy Naan bread next to it.

Enjoy!

PS

If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)