roasted cauliflower salad with curry and cilantro

I am ridiculously excited to share this recipe. This is primarily because it is my recipe. If you cook, I hope you understand the feeling of a turning point in your skills when you begin to trust instincts in putting a dish together. I dreamed up this sturdy little salad and when I say dreamed, I mean day-dreamed and fell asleep at night piecing together the flavors and textures that I greedily desired.

And flavors and textures it is. Oh man- the tender curried cauliflower with the sweetness of the golden raisins, the bit of red onion, nutty cashew and lemony cilantro- it is swoon-worthy and more than a little addictive.

Also, roasting vegetables is not a terribly "summery" activity, but we have somehow, all these years,  managed to look past the potato boiling required for potato salad (a picnic staple) and so I figure I could be forgiven this required cooking step.

roasted cauliflower salad with curry and cilantro

1 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 cup red onion, minced (scant)
1/4-1/3 cup roasted, unsalted cashews, roughly chopped
1/2-3/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins
dressing:
juice from 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1) Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and cut cauliflower into medium sized florets. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss with olive oil and curry powder, until coated. Roast for about 30-40 minutes. Flip pieces for even browning and roast another 12-15 minutes, until just crispy browned on the edges and cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

2) Meanwhile, chop red onion, cashews and cilantro. Tip the contents of the baking tray into a large bowl and add onion, cashews, cilantro and raisins.

3) In a smaller bowl, whisk together juice of half a lemon, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. (Go a little easy on the salt here, I find that the curry adds a lot of flavor.)

4) Pour dressing over the veggies and gently toss all to combine. Serve at room temperature with extra lemon wedges.