Shared Kitchen

Real food from scratch

  • Home
  • About us
  • Cook’s notes
  • Ilaria’s Kitchenette
  • Shop
  • Search

Cauliflower Salad with Mandarins & Fried Almonds

—

4 June 2019 BY Julie Biuso
SERVES: 6

Cauliflower Salad with Mandarins copy

Crunch, colour, tang!

Ingredients
—

Tahini Dressing 1 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt 1 clove garlic Flaky sea salt ¼ cup tahini (sesame paste) 2 Tbsp chopped mint Pomegranate molasses for drizzling Cauliflower & Mandarin Salad 1 medium sized cauliflower Salt 2 fresh bay leaves Oil ½ cup (70g) blanched almonds Seasoned salt (mix together ½ tsp flaky sea salt, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, few pinches ground cinnamon) 2 mandarins 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Finely grated zest 1 lemon 1 Tbsp lemon juice Flaky sea salt Freshly ground black pepper to taste Mint for garnishing, optional

Method
—

1 Make the tahini dressing first. Line a sieve with paper towels, set it over a bowl and pour in the yoghurt. Drain for 30 minutes. Peel garlic and crush on a board with ¼ teaspoon of sea salt. Beat tahini in a bowl until smooth, then add garlic and mix in drained yoghurt and mint.

2 Trim cauliflower but keep it whole. Plunge it core down into a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, throw in the bay leaves, and cook for 1 minute. Have ready a bowl filled with icy water. Drain cauliflower and plunge it into the icy water. As soon as the cauliflower feels cool, remove it, shake off excess water, then leave it to drain core down for 15 minutes.

3 Heat a small pan with a slick of oil over medium heat and add the almonds. Cook gently, stirring often, especially once cooking gets underway, until they are golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with the seasoned salt. Toss to coat.

4 Peel mandarins, removing as much of the white pith as you can. Cut segments in half.

5 In a large bowl whisk together extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest and juice, ¾ teaspoon of flaky sea salt and black pepper. Shave cauliflower into small florets and pieces, discarding any thick raw stems. Add cauliflower to dressing and toss well. Add mandarins.

6 Smear the tahini dressing over a large platter (or two plates) with a small knife. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses. Arrange a mound of the cauliflower and mandarin salad on top, then scatter with almonds, adding all the seasoned salt. If liked, garnish with mint leaves.

Recipe Notes

There’s no getting around it – cauliflower pongs once it is cooked. Throwing a few fresh bay leaves in the water certainly helps to sweeten the smell (try it!), and an open window helps, too.

Tahini is a thick, oily paste made from toasted sesame seeds. I’ve used unhulled tahini paste in this recipe, which is more nutritious than hulled tahini, but it’s a bit stronger in flavour, and darker in colour. If it is your first time with tahini, go for the hulled version and see how you like it. There is usually a big puddle of oil on top of a jar of tahini paste that needs stirring in with a long-handled spoon before taking out what you need.

Cauliflower & Mandarin Salad 4

Drizzle tahini and yoghurt sauce with pomegranate molasses

Cauliflower & Mandarin Salad 3

Share Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
share on Tumblr
Tumblr
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

You might also like...

No rants this week
Nuggety fudgy freshly dug spuds. Mmmmm.
Read more
Radish & Cucumber Salad
What to serve with this fresh and crunchy salad? I’d go for fish, steamed, barbecued, fried, baked, any which way you like.
Read more
Fours aux Amandes – almond petits fours
Here's the biscuit for you when you want to add a touch of elegance to your next tea party. Serve with your best china teacups and teapot and make a proper pot of tea as an accompaniment.
Read more

About this blog

Julie Biuso

Shared Kitchen is an ongoing collaboration between longtime New Zealand food personality Julie Biuso and upstart food blogger Ilaria Biuso.

Subscribe

Keep up to date with all the latest.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Essentials

  • 10 minutes with…
  • Tastings
  • Kitchen things we like
  • Reviews
  • Sites I like
  • Weights & measures
  • Copyright & disclaimer

Categories

  • Recently posted
  • Julie’s Blog
  • Ilaria’s Blog & Recipes
  • Special occasions
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Autumn
  • Winter
  • Wine & drinks

Posts by month

  • + 2021
    • February (11)
    • January (14)
  • + 2020
    • December (11)
    • November (17)
    • October (21)
    • September (19)
    • August (10)
    • July (7)
    • June (4)
    • May (4)
    • April (28)
    • March (15)
    • February (25)
    • January (13)
  • + 2019
    • December (18)
    • November (22)
    • October (19)
    • September (24)
    • August (27)
    • July (30)
    • June (19)
    • May (30)
    • April (38)
    • March (24)
    • February (24)
    • January (19)
  • + 2018
    • December (21)
    • November (25)
    • October (28)
    • September (23)
    • August (26)
    • July (27)
    • June (27)
    • May (25)
    • April (15)
    • March (21)
    • February (22)
    • January (19)
  • + 2017
    • December (13)
    • November (22)
    • October (23)
    • September (18)
    • August (25)
    • July (17)
    • June (22)
    • May (21)
    • April (19)
    • March (25)
    • February (19)
    • January (23)
  • + 2016
    • December (8)
    • November (17)
    • October (21)
    • September (22)
    • August (23)
    • July (13)
    • June (19)
    • May (22)
    • April (17)
    • March (21)
    • February (15)
    • January (15)
  • + 2015
    • December (20)
    • November (17)
    • October (10)
    • September (23)
    • August (16)
    • July (6)
    • June (14)
    • May (17)
    • April (8)
    • March (12)
    • February (8)
    • January (21)
  • + 2014
    • December (4)
    • November (2)
Shared Kitchen Online Shop

SHARED KITCHEN COOKBOOK

Buy our Shared Kitchen Cookbook

Get a signed copy by Julie & Ilaria Biuso

Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2015 Best Food Blogsite NZ

Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2015 Best Food Blogsite NZ

Julie Biuso at Home book

julie-biuso-at-home

Foodies Awards

Foodies Awards
Shared Kitchen

Shared Kitchen
Julie Biuso
2020

  • Home
  • About us
  • Cook’s notes
  • Ilaria’s kitchenette

© 2020 Please see our copyright page for conditions on use of content here

  • Home
  • About us
  • Ilaria’s Kitchenette
  • Shop
  • Categories
    • Special occasions
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Baking
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
    • Winter
    • Wine & drinks
    • Back
  • Essentials
    • 10 minutes with…
    • Kitchen things we like
    • Recently posted
    • Reviews
    • Tastings
    • Tips & tricks
    • Something for the weekend
    • Weights & measures
    • What’s at the farmers’ markets
    • Back