Roasted cauliflower salad with hazelnuts

Roasted cauliflower salad with hazelnuts – warm, earthy, slightly sweet, and nutty – this fall salad is absolutely fantastic, and worthy of your holiday table. 

With Halloween successfully behind us, it’s time to think about the next big holiday on the line.  It’s funny how lately, I’ve been seeing wild turkeys quite often in parks and trails, as if on cue, to remind us that the big bird dinner is a mere two weeks away!  I have already started playing with some menu ideas and plan on posting the best soon.

For me, the Thanksgiving menu is all about the side dishes, and not so much about the turkey.   The turkey is just a nice decoration on the table, if you ask me.  Sides, on the other hand, present so much more room for experimentation, and the sheer abundance of fall produce makes this process pretty easy and exciting.  That’s why every Thanksgiving, I try to come up with something new and different, instead of the same old mashed potatoes and green beans casserole (that I think everybody is secretly tired of).

This roasted cauliflower salad, is perfect for the Thanksgiving table – it’s festive, delicious, and easy to make – it doesn’t need much cooking, except for chopping up veggies. It’s hearty too, from all that fiber, but doesn’t pack too many calories.  All in all, it meets my requirements for a perfect recipe – great tasting (and looking), healthy, and easy.

If you can find purple and yellow cauliflower, use in place of a regular one, as it definitely makes it more vibrant looking.  I purposefully chose Portobello mushrooms here, because of their meaty texture, and size.  I also roast a couple of red onions and a whole head of garlic.   You need at least three trays to roast all these veggies – One for the mushrooms, one for the onions and garlic, and one for the cauliflower.  For the garlic, I separate the garlic cloves of a whole head, and leave the skin on.  You can peel it afterwards.  There is no dressing, as I think it’s best to taste all these wonderful flavors in their pure state.  I only add a dash of truffle oil to accentuate the mushroom flavor.  The topping is simple – roasted hazelnuts whose mild sweetness goes so well with the caramelized, and almost nutty flavor of the cauliflower.

You might also enjoy these other fall favorites:

Mushroom salad with lentils and caramelized onions – readers’ top choice!
Roasted beet salad with caramelized garlic and goat cheese – everyone loves it!
Roasted beets and charred onion salad – one of my top faves!

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Roasted cauliflower with mushrooms and hazelnuts

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

Roasted cauliflower salad with hazelnuts - warm, earthy, slightly sweet, and nutty - this fall salad is absolutely fantastic, and worthy of your holiday table.

Course: Side dish/Salad

Servings: 6

Author: Viktoria

Ingredients

• 2 small heads of cauliflower yellow and purple, or substitute for 1 medium regular one
• 2 red onions
• 3 big portobello mushrooms
• 1 head of garlic separated into cloves
• 1/4 cup olive oil divided
• 1-2 Tbs truffle oil optional
• a splash of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• a few pinches of salt
• 1/4 cup of toasted hazelnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (~200°C)
2. Cut onion in thick, moon-shape slices.  Separate garlic gloves but do not peel.  Mix onions and garlic cloves with 1 tbs of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, cover with foil.
3. Cut cauliflower into bite-size pieces, add 2 tbs of olive oil, and salt and mix well. Spread on a baking sheet and cover with foil
4. Cut portobello mushrooms into 1 cm thick slices, and arrange on a roasting pan.  Brush both sides with 2 tbs olive oil, sprinkle with salt and black pepper.  Cover with foil.
5. Put all veggies in the oven.  After 20 minutes remove foil, and bake the mushrooms and onions 5-10 minutes more until they are well browned. Leave cauliflower in the oven about 10 more minutes until it's nicely caramelized.
6. Mix all veggies in a serving bowl, add more salt and pepper, drizzle with truffle oil, and a bit of balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.