Roasted Cauliflower, Orange and Baby Spinach Salad

I could just eat a bowl of this salad on it’s own, but it was also delicious with orange glazed Salmon Fillets for dinner.

The various elements – the caramelisation of the fried onion mixture, bite of the chilli, crunchiness of toasted almonds and sweetness of the oranges – result in a mouth-watering fusion of flavours and textures.

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

Roasted Cauliflower
1/2 Head of cauliflower
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Onion Mixture
1 large brown onion, finely sliced
1-2 red chillies sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Salad ingredients
2 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup almond flakes
1 orange peeled and separated into segments, seeds removed
1/4 cup coriander or mint leaves roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. Remove outer leaves from cauliflower.

3. Mix together olive oil, cumin powder and salt. Rub this mixture all over the cauliflower.

4. Roast cauliflower for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and golden.

5. Meanwhile heat olive oil in a pan, onions, chilli and garlic and cool slowly until onions are golden brown and starting to caramelise slightly.

6. In another pan, dry toast the almond flakes until golden brown, taking care not to burn them.

7. Remove cauliflower from oven, cut into florets, add to onion mixture and mix through gently to coat cauliflower.

8. Place baby spinach leaves, cauliflower mixture, orange segments in salad bowl and toss carefully to avoid breaking cauliflower florets.

5. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and coriander/mint and serve.