Roasted and pickled cauliflower salad with almond hummus
Marcus Wareing makes cauliflower the star in this summery salad, serving it both pickled and roasted. Finish with a swoosh of homemade almond hummus.
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower, outer leaves removed and inner leaves reserved
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- fresh thyme sprigs (or any fresh/dried herbs you like)
- ½ bunch fresh chives, cut into 1cm/½in pieces, to garnish
For the pickling liquor
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar
- 125ml/4fl oz white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves
For the almond hummus
- 50g/1¾oz whole almonds, skin on, plus extra to serve
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 200g/7oz chickpeas (drained weight)
- 4 tbsp tahini
- squeeze lemon juice
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Cut the cauliflower in half, top to bottom and through the core. Place a cauliflower half flat-side down and cut into 12 thin slices, about 3mm/â…›in thick. Cutting through the stem, chop the rest of the cauliflower into florets. Place the thin slices in a large, shallow heatproof dish.
To make the pickling liquor, put the sugar, vinegar and cloves in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the pickling liquor over the thin cauliflower slices. Cover with cling film and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Put the cauliflower florets in a large roasting tin, then season generously with cumin seeds, salt, pepper, oil and thyme sprigs. If using a barbecue, cook on the grill to char, then cover the entire tray with kitchen foil and return to the heat to cook for another 10–15 minutes. If using the oven, roast for 10–15 minutes until brown.
To make the almond hummus, put all the ingredients into a small blender and blend until smooth, adding water to loosen if necessary.
To serve, generously spread the hummus on a serving plate. Top with the cauliflower florets, then put the pickled slices on top. Garnish with some cauliflower leaves, chives, cracked pepper, chopped almonds and a little extra virgin olive oil to finish.
