Tasting Jerusalem! Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad

It's dubious as to whether I can really take on another communal cooking project, but my love of Yottam Ottolenghi and the fun approach of the Tasting Jerusalem group (who were just featured in the New York Times' Recipe Lab!) has had me salivating from the sidelines for the past few months, coaxing me to join in the fun. I had the best of intentions for May's baking round (this phenomenal looking Chocolate Krantz Cake will still happen) and preserved lemons round too (a fridge full of Meyers didn't even tip the balance), but this month it's salads on the menu, and it all came together.

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables. It like to think it hearkens back to warm memories of my Oma (German grandmother) making her cheesy, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth Gebakene Kohl (baked cauliflower), but whatever the genesis I'm always keeping an eye out for new recipes and ways of preparing it.

Without any conscious forethought to the recipes in Jerusalem, I picked up a small but perfect cauliflower at the farmers market and tucked it into the fridge. A couple days later I leafed through the cookbook pages again and saw I had bookmarked the Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad. Perfection! With the exception of sherry vinegar (I subbed red wine vinegar), I even had all the ingredients on hand.

Even though the ingredients seem autumnal, this is a great summer recipe. The roasting is easy and fast, allowing you to prep the rest of ingredients at the same time, which means you end up with a healthy, beautiful salad on the table with very little active cooking time.

Below is my ode in images, with a link to the recipe at the end.

Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad

I was particularly wowed by this salad, because it calls upon ingredients I would never have thought to put together but which effortlessly complement each other. With allspice and cinnamon, spices I typically don't use in salads, the layers of flavor were at once light and elegant. It was flavorfully rich, but easy to eat. Once again, Jerusalem hits one out of the park.

Find the recipe here.

And speaking of spices, Tasting Jerusalem's focus for August will be Bahārāt, a spice blend I look forward to experimenting with!