Tuesday 19 April 2011

Roasted Cauliflower and Pumpkin Salad

Saturday was crazy.  My hand held blender died while making a smoothie.  I went to the supermarket three times.  We fought our way past children watching the easter bunny in the mall.  I came home without donuts which were sold out and without falafels because the wait was too long.  Sylvia wouldn't sleep.  She told me she had to do a few things and proceeded to throw things out of the kitchen drawer.

I drove to another shopping centre and circled endlessly in search of a parking spot.  I was so frazzled I took the escalator to the wrong level of the department store.  A fortuitous mistake.  There was the fruit bowl I had coveted.  On sale!  Something had to go right.  Then I forgot things at the supermarket and had to stop at another on the way home.

We had a few people over for E's birthday on Sunday.  Saturday was full of preparations.  My mum took Sylvia to her house for a sleepover.  I was able to do so much more without her about but it was odd.  No little face tilting to the side with the question "are 'ou ok, mummy".  No little hands tipping jigsaw puzzles over the rug.  No little arm being curled around Zinc's neck in a cuggle.  No little gruff voice making us laugh.  No little belly needing filling at the end of the day.  No little eyes being rubbed as sleep beckoned.  Very odd.

E wanted to order pizza.  I was tempted.  Then I remembered I had eaten enough toast and hot cross buns that day.  I needed vegetables.  A cauliflower and a wedge of pumpkin the fridge called to me.  I chopped them and roasted them, using a marinade for the pumpkin.  I added some vegetables, a squeeze of lemon juice and a generous dollop of yoghurt.  E would have preferred pizza but the salad was what I needed.

The dressing was quite intense, dark and thick.  It worked better with the warm vegetables than in the cold leftovers the next day.  I made more than is in the recipe.  There is still a little in the fridge.  I used a spoonful of leftover dressing in a stirfry today to add some depth of flavour and it made a nice contribution.  I might try it with other spice mixes in future.  A nice piece of experimentation.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Curried Paneer and Birthday Cheer
This time two years ago: Tempting prune cake
This time three years ago: NCR Moody Mushroom Stew

Roasted Cauliflower and Pumpkin Salad
serves 2-3 as a main meal

Marinade:
  • 1 tbsp bush spice mix (or a little less)
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp seeded mustard
  • 1/2 tsp chilli paste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Salad:
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 800g pumpkin
  • 60g (handful) baby spinach, chopped
  • 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 spring onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup cooked white beans
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 2 dessertspoons of yoghurt
Make marinade by lightly whisking all ingredients in a small bowl with a fork.

Chop cauliflower into largish florets and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt in a large roasting dish.  Trim, peel and dice the pumpkin.  Place in another roasting tin and toss in the marinade.  Roast cauliflower and pumpkin for about 1 hour at 200-220 C (I can't quite be exact with temperature as I changed it a few times).

While the vegies are roasting, place the spinach, tomatoes, spring onion and beans into a large salad bowl.  When cauliflower and pumpkin are cooked through (prick them with a fork to check - a bit of char is fine), tip into salad bowl.  Squeeze lemon juice over vegetables.  Spoon yoghurt over the top.  Stir until salad is evenly coated with yoghurt.  Serve warm.

On the stereo:
The best of: Bob Dylan

13 comments:

  1. Sounds like a well deserved meal after a hectic day!!!

    ps - love that new salad bowl by the way!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy birthday to E! You've clearly got him well trained, fi you can talk him out of pizza even on his Birthday Eve ;) So glad you found the lovely fruit bowl to brighten your day! I'd love a bowl of roasted cauliflower right now :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You definitely needed some hearty vegetables after a day like that, fruit bowl notwithstanding. Roasted cauliflower is something I haven't tried, but I bet it was good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy birthday to E! Sounds like you've had quite the busy past few days! I love the sound of this meal...pumpkin is always what I crave at the end of...well...any day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. yum! what a delightful meal.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy belated birthday to E! Your description of missing Sylvia was really sweet, too. Hope it was a lovely evening and that Sylvia had fun at Grannie's. And I do believe I could actually make that marinade, as I happen to have some bush spice mix! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Now that was a crazy day. I'm tired just reading!
    The day feels funny when there aren't little feet pitter pattering about doesn't it. I like the look of these veges. Natural yoghurt on them...perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That salad looks amazing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Johanna--thought you'd like to know that someone has copied an entire blog post of yours verbatim, with photos: http://jpplacefood.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/sos-facon-vegetarian-bacon/ Quite nervy, no?

    Also, did you get the email I sent about a week ago? :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ahh I'm so glad that something worked out! I loathe those days when nothing goes right!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This looks fabulous, especially with the dollop of yoghurt on top. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks Lisa - I needed it

    Thanks Hannah - am very happy with my fruit bowl - made amends to E by making him pizza on his birthday :-)

    Thanks Choclette - roasted cauliflower is fantastic - a little charred around the edges gives it a nice texture - you should try it

    Thanks Joanne - I crave pumpkin a lot too - just don't eat it as much as I would like

    Thanks Anh

    Thanks Ricki - the marinade is serving me well - put it in some soup for extra seasoning - so highly recommend it - and yes Sylvia had fun with my mum and cousins

    Thanks City Hippy Farm Girl - it is weirdly quiet without the little feet - though i think I also feel I should use the time well because I get it so infrequently

    Thanks CAthy

    Thanks Ricki - oh that is not good news about the spammer, but my tardiness in replying to an email is easier fixed - have done that today!

    Thanks Lorraine - the world does seem against me some days - though am glad it throws up a fruit bowl as compensation :-)

    Thanks Cakelaw - the yoghurt looked so much better before it was stirred in - ironic isn't it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love warm salads like this. And love the sound of roasted cauliflower in this.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for dropping by. I love hearing from you. Please share your thoughts and questions. Annoyingly the spammers are bombarding me so I have turned on the pesky captcha code (refresh to find an easy one if you don't like the first one)