Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Since I have been focusing on crockpot meals over the last few months, I figured that making a salad or two would make easy sides for those meals.  I found a few recipes, and this week I made one because I had some spare time (surprised? I was!).  This salad I wasn't too sure about--raisins, hot sauce, and cauliflower?....  Yeah sounds strange, but I took a leap of faith.  This salad is DELICIOUS!  Even the hubby loved it!

{Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Salad}

{Soak raisins in hot sauce and lemon juice for about 1 hour (or while you roast and chop the rest of the ingredients)}

{Mix cauliflower florets, onions, chickpeas, and cumin seeds together with olive oil}

{Place coated ingredients on a baking sheet to roast}

{Roast until the edges of the cauliflower start to brown}

{Mixing cooled roasted veggies, soaked raisins, and fresh herbs}

{Allow mixed salad to sit overnight}

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Makes 4 servings

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 small snack box of raisins (about 3 oz)

1 tablespoon favorite hot sauce

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1 sweet onion, in 1/4 inch slices

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Mix lemon juice, hot sauce and raisins together in the small bowl; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. Toss cauliflower, chickpeas, onions, cumin seeds, and oil together until everything is coated.
4. Place coated ingredients on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
5. Roast for 30 minutes or until edges of vegetables turn brown; remove from oven and cool.
6. Meanwhile, chop fresh herbs and place in bowl.
7. When vegetables have cooled, add to herbs in bowl along with raisins and hot sauce mixture.
8. Combine all ingredients together until well combined seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
9. Refrigerate overnight.

I love this salad because cauliflower is an underused and underappreciated vegetable, in my opinion.  I have been roasting it over the last six months (another salad and a cheesy gratin), and I just love the slightly sweet taste it gets when I do.  Good thing I brought the rest for lunch today (after painfully setting some aside for my mother--hope she appreciates it...) because I cannot get enough of this salad!

Tell me--are YOU adventurous in your culinary life?

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