November 14th, 2014
When creating recipes, I keep in mind a few key points for what my dishes should be: flavorful, healthful, new, accessible. I don’t always hit all of these points – sometimes it’s easier to make a meal that feels very unique and fresh, but doesn’t score high on the accessibility scale, or often a dish won’t feel very new if it contains common ingredients and is simple in preparation.
But from time to time, I manage to come up with a recipe that can be described by all those adjectives, and this Warm Cauliflower, Grape and Black Rice Salad is one of them.
With the exception of Concord and Muscadine grapes, which have a relatively short season in the late summer and early fall, I rarely use table grapes in my cooking due to their overwhelming sweetness. This salad is the best home for very sweet grapes – they will provide a delicious contrast to the subtle spiciness of the dressing, the earthy roasted cauliflower and textural black rice. I’ve probably made this dish five times in the past two weeks, yet it disappears so quickly that I can never catch a good portion for myself.
Besides the very tasty combination of flavors and textures, this salad is strikingly beautiful and could make an excellent addition to your holiday table. To make it even more festive, sprinkle with some fresh pomegranate seeds.
Lastly, thank you for all of your expressed interest in the Abruzzo retreats.
Warm Salad of Roasted Cauliflower, Grapes and Black Rice
for the salad
1 cup black forbidden rice
sea salt
1 cauliflower head – cut into florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove – minced
1 teaspoon cumin – preferably freshly ground
2 cups seedless grapes – cut into quarters (optionally, use a variety of grapes)
1 small chili pepper – seeded and minced (optional)
bunch cilantro leaves
for the dressing
1 tablespoon sesame tahini
1 tablespoon unpasteurized miso paste
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sriracha
to make the dressing
Mix together tahini and miso paste in a small bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir into a smooth dressing.
to cook rice
Bring 1 cup of black rice, 1 3/4 cup of water and salt to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
to roast cauliflower
Preheat oven to 400 F. Drizzle cauliflower florets with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic and cumin and mix to coat using your hands. Arrange in a single layer on a baking tray. Roast for 20 minutes or until soft, rotating the tray half way through and turning florets if you wish.
to make the salad
Combine rice, cauliflower, grapes, chili and cilantro leaves in a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss to coat. Serve immediately, so that the cauliflower and rice are still warm.
It tastes great cold as well and keeps well covered and refrigerated for at least 3 days.
Tags: black rice, cauliflower, grapes, salad
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September 9th, 2013
This post is also available in: French
This week, I’ve really been craving vegetables – I always do – but it comes in waves, some are bigger than others. This was a particularly big wave, and I wanted something pure, nourishing and full of flavor.
As much as I love Indian food, the thought of curry rarely crosses my mind during the hot summer months. But as soon as the first, brief chill arrives in the air, I quickly start thinking about warming spices. This recipe is far from traditional curry, but a perfect combination of the still summery, raw and crunchy vegetables with the creaminess of fragrant curry sauce. The dish is not entirely raw, as I use roasted pumpkin seeds, which are important for the texture and amazing flavour. You can omit the lemongrass to simplify, if you wish.
I have been using this julienne peeler a whole lot lately to make all kinds of vegetable noodles, which is a fun way to present vegetables in salads and main dishes. It has its advantages over the spiralizer, which I like a lot as well. The peeler makes thicker noodles and works better for softer vegetables such as cucumber and zucchini. It is cheap and doesn’t take up much space in the kitchen. The spiralizer works better with hard vegetables like carrots, or round shapes like beets and turnips.
In other news, our wonderful translator, Géraldine Olivo, who has been supplying Golubka readers with French translations of our recipes, is coming out with a new cookbook. The book is titled Fleurs en cuisine and features recipes that include edible flowers – fresh, dried or in the form of waters and essential oils. It is out on the 12th of September, learn more about it here.
Lemongrass Mango Curry
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 bunch cilantro – hard stems removed
about 1 cup basil leaves, plus handful for garnish
handful mint leaves, plus more for garnish
1/2 garlic clove – minced
1 ripe sweet mango – peeled and pitted
3 lemongrass stalks – chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-inch piece ginger – peeled and minced
1/4 small jalapeno – seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder or to taste (I used muchi curry)
squeeze of honey
generous squeeze of lime juice
sea salt to taste
1 large daikon radish – thinly julienned
1 medium zucchini – thinly julienned
1-2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers – seeded and thinly julienned
1/2 cauliflower head – chopped into small, bite-size florets
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Toss the pumpkin seeds with olive oil and salt and spread on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes until puffed up and golden.
2. Add half of the toasted pumpkin seeds into a food processor along with the cilantro, basil, mint and garlic. Process until well combined and leave in the food processor.
3. Meanwhile, combine the mango flesh and lemongrass in a high-speed blender, blending until smooth. Strain and discard the solids.
4. Add the lemongrass-mango puree to the food processor, along with the ginger, jalapeno, curry powder, honey, lime juice and salt to taste. Process until well combined.
5. In a large mixing bowl combine the daikon radish, zucchini, bell pepper and cauliflower pieces. Add in the mango-curry sauce and reserved 1/2 portion of toasted pumpkin seeds. Toss well to combine. Garnish with basil and mint leaves and serve.
Tags: cauliflower, curry, daikon radish, herbs, lemongrass, mango, pumpkin seeds, recipe, salad, zucchini
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