Roasted Cauliflower, Lentil, and Pomegranate Salad

 

I was so taken with the perfect looking and reasonably priced cauliflower at the markets that two found their way into my basket, and this recipe evolved. The humble but oh so versatile Cauliflower is quite abundant at the moment and deserves to be the star of the show in this salad. However, the pink pomegranate jewels are definitely trying to steal the limelight, but it's not a competition really.

 I roast cauliflower all of the time now with just a little olive oil, and it's a very easy way of cooking that accentuates all of the wonderful flavours, and forms the basis of this salad. It is such a versatile vegetable, and so is this salad. It's perfect to enjoy for a meat free Monday.

Cauliflower very modestly lays the foundation for a beautiful salad, in Summer or Winter. However I felt some colour was needed, and the baby spinach leaves and glistening pomegranate jewels came to the party in that regard. All that was required then was a little more earthiness and substance, and the Puy Lentils happily obliged. Add a light dressing of lemon juice and olive oil, season, add some delicious chopped coriander leaves, and my favourite Pomegranate molasses, and we have an easy, delicious but very nutritious salad. The quantities here will feed a crowd, so feel free to halve them at the very least, however this salad keeps very well for a few days in a covered container in the refrigerator. Perfect for lunches to start the week with.

I like to make a salad or two on Sunday to carry us through over the next few days. This one will be perfect.

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower (about 1 kg), cut into florets
2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle
Sea salt and black pepper
300g lentils (use brown or Puy) or whichever other variety you wish
1 cup baby spinach leaves, add some rocket or other green if you wish
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 pomegranate, seeds extracted
Pomegranate molasses, a drizzle

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 deg. c

Coat the cauliflower in olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and roast for 25-30 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven when cooked and arrange on your salad dish.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the lentils. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until just tender. Be careful not to overcook them or they will turn to mush. Drain the lentils well.

Combine the roasted cauliflower, lentils, baby spinach, coriander, a drizzle of olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice and season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper.

Scatter over the pomegranate seeds and drizzle with a few drops of pomegranate molasses.

Sometimes I also like to add a few currants to this salad for a little extra sweetness and flavour.

Cook's notes:

• I'm always careful not to add to many ingredients to my recipes, but if you have  some nuts or toasted pine nuts on hand, you could throw in a few of those as well. 
• Also, a scattering of crumbled feta or goat's cheese, before adding the pomegranate jewels, would be a wonderful choice for an even more substantial meal.
• If pomegranate isn't available, I sometimes substitute with dried cranberries, bringing a little colour and sweetness.

Warm wishes,

Pauline