These roasted cauliflower bites and chickpeas are so flavorful, the salad doesn’t even need a dressing.
I looked at the whole buffet, trying to decide what I should taste. And this Cauliflower Salad was what stood out to me. After dessert, I went back for more so that I could pay more attention to what was in it.
A friend noticed I was having salad after dessert. “Are you tasting it again so you can figure out the recipe?”
“Yes, of course!”
This Cauliflower Salad feels exotic–yet the components are very accessible and simple to prep. Let’s start.
Even though fresh cauliflower can be used, I tried it using frozen cauliflower as it’s more practical. You get much more cauliflower for the money and we’re roasting it for a while, so I don’t think it will make much of a difference in the end.
Start by thawing your cauliflower just until it’s soft enough for you to be able to slice it thinly. This is easiest if it’s still mostly frozen. If you use mini cauliflower, you don’t have to slice the cauliflower as it’s already small enough.
Add your chickpeas to the baking sheet.
Drizzle the whole tray with the olive oil.
Sprinkle with spices–turmeric is the essential ingredient here.
Then toss it all together.
Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes (check it at 25 minutes as every oven is different).
While the cauliflower and chickpeas are roasting, you can prep the other ingredients. Slice your shallot or red onion very thinly. The green pepper also needs to be very thin.
Now for the parsley. To measure, remove the leaves and add them to a measuring cup. You don’t need to pack them down. Once you have 2 cups, add them to your cutting board and give a few quick chops. You don’t need to chop finely–the parsley can be nice and big in this salad.
If using kosher pre-checked parsley that comes in small (~1 oz) packages, you will likely need two of them.
Our cauliflower and chickpea mixture is ready! It might look burnt to you when you take it out, but it’s not. We want crunchy chickpeas! The flavor on the cauliflower will also be nicely concentrated.
In a bowl, combine the cauliflower/chickpea mixture with the shallot, green pepper, and parsley. There is no mistake that there is no dressing in this salad. The flavor is so concentrated in these ingredients, we find that it doesn’t even need a dressing! If not serving immediately, you can add a little bit of olive oil just to tie it all together.
How to Prep Ahead: Even though this is called a salad, it’s technically roasted veggies, so it’s best when the cauliflower/chickpea mixture is roasted on the same day that you’ll be serving it. The chickpeas lose their crunch once they are refrigerated. But that doesn’t mean you need to do it all at the last minute. You can prep all your veggies the day before. Keep the seasoned cauliflower/chickpea mixture in one container and the pepper/parsley/shallot in another container. Then, simply add the cauliflower/chickpea mixture to a greased baking sheet to roast, then toss with the fresh veggies.
Cauliflower and Parsley Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 24 oz frozen cauliflower slightly thawed and thinly sliced OR 24 oz mini cauliflower florets
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 large shallot or 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ green pepper very thinly sliced
- 2 cups fresh parsley leaves chopped (not finely)
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line and grease a baking sheet with aluminum foil or line with parchment paper.
- On the prepared baking sheet, toss cauliflower and chickpeas with olive oil and spices. Bake for 30 minutes (check after 25 minutes as every oven may be different). It might look overcooked and almost burnt, but it’s not. We want the chickpeas to be crunchy!
- In a bowl, combine cauliflower/chickpea mixture with shallot, green pepper, and parsley. Toss with olive oil if using.
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