Italian Roasted Cauliflower Salad from Calabria, Italy – Tasty, Vegan, Gluten Free.
As we head into the weekend, I thought we’d explore Southern Italy a bit more as part of my Culinary Staycation series. Last week, we dined on a simple Tuna Salad Caprese on the gorgeous island of Capri. Today, we’ll travel south to the tippy-toe of the Italian boot, to the region known as Calabria.
The Church on the Island – Tropea, Calabria, Italy
Calabria’s geography, with direct access to the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, made it desirable to a number of conquering nations throughout history. During the 8th century B.C. the Greeks ruled, followed 500 years later by the Romans… then the Teutons, the Goths, the Lombards, the French, the Sicilians, the Spaniards… the list goes on. Each conquering nation made an impression on the local cuisine, giving Calabria a tapestry of amazing flavors to play with.
Calabria, Italy – Tropea la Costa
Some of the most important ingredients in Calabrian cuisine were introduced by the Arabs– eggplant, citrus, artichokes, and raisins are all major players in Calabrian cooking. The Spaniards and French brought their own influences. With all of these colorful countries in the mix, it’s no wonder that Calabrian food has so much flavor… it’s anything but tame. Strong flavors like chili peppers, salty brined capers, and lemon juice abound.
Le Castella, Crotone – Calabria, Italy
I adapted this salad from a wonderful cookbook (now out of print) called “The Food of Southern Italy” by Carlo Middione. This book is a treasure trove of authentic Italian cooking. In this traditional Calabrian salad, cooked cauliflower is drizzled with olive oil and tossed with olives, capers, parsley and chili flakes. I took many liberties with the dish; to start, I roasted the cauliflower rather than boiling it to release the natural sugars and give it some caramelized flavor. I cut the olive oil a bit to make the salad lighter, and added lemon juice to brighten the flavor for summer. The original recipe calls for anchovies, but I didn’t have any on hand so I left them out, choosing to double the amount of olives instead (you can add 8 chopped filets if you like, but cut the amount of olives in half so you’re not overwhelmed with salty flavor). The salad includes a lot of salty ingredients, so I’ve made the salt optional… taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
This salad is super healthy and flavorful. It’s vegan, gluten free, and works for both Mediterranean and low carb diets. Enjoy!
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Italian Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds cauliflower
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- 16 pitted Gaeta or Kalamata olives, chopped
- 3 tablespoons capers
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
NOTES
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier cleanup, if desired. Pull the leaves off of the cauliflower base. Cut off the lower part of the stem.
- Cut the head of cauliflower into four quarters.
- Slice each quarter into 6-8 pieces. You want as many flat surfaces as possible on each floret-- the flat surfaces caramelize best. Caramelization is the key to giving the roasted cauliflower flavor-- those golden, sugary juices take this veggie from good to amazing.
- Give all the florets a thorough rinse in a colander. Shake them dry.
- Place the florets in a large bowl and drizzle them with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the minced garlic florets to the bowl. Toss the cauliflower florets till they're coated with olive oil and minced garlic.
- Spread the florets out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Reserve any small bits of cauliflower that have fallen away from the florets in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cauliflower florets lightly with pepper.Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and let the cauliflower roast for 10 minutes. While cauliflower is roasting, prep your other ingredients-- chop the parsley, juice the lemon, etc.
- After 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Use tongs to turn over the florets, making sure that the florets with flat surfaces are pressed directly against the baking sheet. This will enhance caramelization. Sprinkle the reserved cauliflower bits onto the baking sheet. Return the baking sheet to the oven. Let the cauliflower roast for 10-20 minutes longer till tender. When it's ready you will be able to pierce it easily with a fork.Remove the cauliflower from the oven. Spread it out on a large plate or platter and allow to cool.
- Throw the room temperature cauliflower into a salad bowl along with the remaining 3 tbsp of olive oil, parsley, chopped olives, capers, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes are very spicy, add with care.
- Toss gently to combine all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add any salt because the olives and capers are salty, but some might like a touch of salt added to this dish). You can also add more olive oil to taste, if desired.
- Serve salad at room temperature. Italians like to serve this salad with warm freshly baked bread and copious amounts of olive oil. Served on its own the way I've described here, it is gluten free, low carb, and heart healthy.
Janice says
Great salad, and I’ve passed it on to my dieting friends- they went crazy over it! I added 2 tsps of a balsamic glaze (balsamic reduction) which added another dimension to the dressing. Thanks for another great recipe!
Tori Avey says
Great idea on the balsamic Janice!
Mumtaz says
Your recipe appears super ! Will try it tomorrow. So much effort seems to have gone into the presentaton of it. Well done.
christin says
Have made this more than once, now … really fabulous, and a big hit even with the non-cauliflower / veggies-aren’t-my-besties crew! Thanks!
cristina says
you neeeed to have your own cooking show! i love your blog so much keeping history and good foods alive , and using fresh ingredients. youre an inspiration!
unikorna says
What an incredible explosion of color and delight, I actually need time to study your blog because I plan to inspire myslef, kisses and congrats :).
Kim Bee says
Love roasted cauliflower so this would make me do the happy dance for sure. Love all the photos of Calabria. Gorgeous.
AmyTH says
I do this minus the olives but with raisins… I think the sweet against the olives would be awesome but not sure what would happen in terms of kosher…=)
Tori Avey says
Raisins won’t change the kosher status (if you were strictly kosher you would look for a kosher hechsher on the raisin box). If you want to add them, go for it. 🙂
sabine says
This salad just rocked my world.
I have been looking for a simple cauliflower dish since visiting Sicily last year.
I didn’t have any olives so I left them out entirely, but it was fantastic nonetheless!
I’ll be adding this mouthwatering salad to my arsenal! Thank you for sharing!
Riley says
Your pictures are beautiful! I love finding new cauliflower dishes, so thanks for sharing!
Debra Kapellakis says
Incredible photo’s of Italy and the food.
Lori Lynn says
Sounds delicious Tori. Great idea to roast the cauliflower!
LL
kari@Loaves and Dishes says
This sound absolutely delicious. I would serve it as a salad, or hot out of the oven, even over pasta. YUMMO!
Stephanie says
This is delicious! I just made it, following the recipe exactly. I think it will be a summer staple. Thanks for the cauliflower cooking tips, too.
Tori Avey says
Happy you enjoyed it Stephanie!
Eftychia says
Delicious salad! Simply delicious!
Tori Avey says
I agree, Eftychia, and I’m so pleased you liked it 🙂
Susan says
This caukiflower dish looks like a journey to heaven and back! Will definitely make this week.
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy says
looks amazing…i love roasted cauliflower!
Sharonshiatsu says
Hi Tori, I am such a fan of your other Roasted Cauliflower recipe so will try this one…however I am not a fan of the black type olives. I only like the green ones…wondering if they would work instead? Or maybe some Feta?
Thanks as always, love your site and you!
Tori Avey says
Hi Sharon! Green olives will work great. Feta would be awesome! But they’re both pretty salty, so add the feta to taste. Good luck! So happy you’re enjoying the site. 🙂
Louelle says
I was planning on making roasted cauliflower for dinner tonight, and then your recipe popped up on my FB page. Thank you, my dinner is going to be off the charts now:-)
Shabbat Shalom, Tori!
Tam says
I’m so glad you included a sub for the capers, for some reason I just cannot get on board with capers but the salad looks AMAZING (emphasis on the ZING!)
Sonya says
I enjoy all of the recipes, but this one is going to make me chew my arm off. I am making this over the weekend.
Sonya