Our cookbook of the week is Start Simple by Lukas Volger , creator of the James Beard Award-winning Jarry magazine. Tomorrow, we’ll feature an interview with the author.
To try another recipe from the book, check out: White bean and carrot burgers , and Swiss chard enchiladas in red sauce .
Roasted cauliflower is the foundation for Lukas Volger’s herbaceous salad. Just the type “to heap inside a warm pita with a dollop of freshly made hummus or cold yogurt,” it’s citrusy and substantial.
Roasting is Volger’s preferred method of cooking both cauliflower and broccoli, to “accentuate their sweetness and minimize their sulfurous odour.” He devotes a chapter to the cruciferous vegetables in Start Simple. Roasted cauliflower shows up in olive frittata cups, kimchi sandwiches, apple soup and the following tabbouleh-inspired salad.
“I really like cold, roasted cauliflower, so to me this is a really satisfying salad in that regard. It also illustrates one of the principles in the book of using your herbs — leafy, tender herbs like parsley, basil, mint and cilantro — like salad greens,” says Volger.
“Thinking of them less as a garnish that you sprinkle here and there — and end up throwing away when they’re forgotten about in the refrigerator — and using them really abundantly. It’s a little bit like tabbouleh … but the whole herb leaves really give it a lot of distinction.”
CAULIFLOWER AND HERB SALAD
2 cups (500 mL) Roasted Cauliflower (recipe follows)
Leaves from 1 small bunch parsley (about 3 cups/750 mL)
1/2 cup (125 mL) loosely packed mint leaves, large ones torn
2 small cucumbers, chopped
1 cup (250 mL) halved or quartered cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
Step 1
Chop the cauliflower so that the largest pieces are about the size of an almond and place in a serving bowl. Add the parsley, mint, cucumbers, and tomatoes and toss to combine. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir, then taste and add additional salt or lemon juice as needed. For best results, add the herbs just prior to serving, before they start to wilt and discolour.
Serves: 4 to 6 as a side
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
2 medium heads cauliflower, outer leaves discarded
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Step 2
Working close to the stem, cut or snap off large bunches of florets of cauliflower. Depending on their size, halve or quarter them so that you’ve got a flat surface or two. Cut the white core into pieces a bit smaller than the florets.
Step 3
Divide the vegetables between two baking sheets, then drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Toss to evenly coat, then transfer to the oven and roast until tender and caramelized in parts, 20 to 30 minutes, stirring and rotating the pans once halfway through.
Makes: about 4 cups (1 L)
From the book Start Simple by Lukas Volger. Copyright © 2020 by Lukas Volger. Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
