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Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

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Cauliflower is the Superman of the vegetable family.

Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad

I mean really when you think about it, there’s no comparison. Is it faster than a speeding bullet? Obviously. More powerful than a locomotive? Pffft, no problem. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Ha, cauliflower’s got that shit in the bag.

Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad

It is the Queen of versatility, the master of disguises, and the chameleon in our midst. That bird and plane business, “amateur hour,” she says waving her hand dismissively. I don’t see Superman turning himself into a pizza crust one minute or mashed potatoes the next, and you can just forget about faux fried rice or breadless breadsticks.

Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad

While all those fancy pants methods of preparing cauliflower are surely fantastic, I want to keep things simple today and focus on the Clark Kent aspects of this cruciferous vegetable.

Subtle, yet alluring.

Simple, yet elegant.

Easy, yet dashing.

Modest, yet daring. 

Here, cauliflower is the star of the show in all it’s uncomplicated glory.

Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad

There is something magical, yes in a superhero way, that happens to cauliflower when you roast it at high heat. Suddenly this bulbous vegetable transforms from daytime Clark to nighttime Clark in a fitted shirt with a five o’clock shadow. The tips caramelize, bringing out its sweet and nutty flavor. The florets lose their abrasive texture, becoming more malleable, while maintaining their strength. It goes from mild mannered to bold and beautiful in a matter of minutes.

The addition of chickpeas, toasted pine nuts, and avocado elevate this recipe from a simple side dish to a full meal. They add healthy fats and protein, not to mention varying degrees of texture from the silky smooth avocado to the crunchy, buttery pine nuts. The combination of flavors is akin a superhero employing all their powers at once. It’s unstoppable, which is why cauliflower is the Superman of the vegetable family.

Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad

Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad
Serves 4
This roasted cauliflower salad with chickpeas, avocado, green onions and pine nuts not only tastes amazing but is textural perfection too.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
40 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
40 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 small Cauliflower cut into florets, approximately 6 cups
  2. 4 Tbsps. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided into 2 Tbsps. and 2 Tbsps.
  3. Salt & Pepper
  4. 1 Avocado, diced
  5. 1/8 cup Pine Nuts, toasted*
  6. 1/2 a 15 ounce can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  7. 1 Green Onion, white and light green parts, diced
  8. 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
  9. 1 tsp. Lemon Zest
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Cut cauliflower into florets. Toss with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Spread onto a rimmed cookie sheet, and roast in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through. The tips will be brown and crispy when it's done.
  3. While the cauliflower is roasting away, cut up your avocado, toast your pine nuts*, and drain and rinse your chickpeas. Add all of these to a medium sized bowl. When done, add the cooked cauliflower to this same bowl.
  4. Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice, and 1 tsp. lemon zest to the bowl and toss to coat everything. Top with green onions and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
  5. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
  1. *To toast pine nuts: cook in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until brown spots appear, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  2. Serves 4 people as a side dish or two as an entrée.
Clean Eats, Fast Feets http://cleaneatsfastfeets.com/
Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Avocado Salad. Healthy, satisfying and delicous.

What’s your favorite method of preparing cauliflower? Which vegetable do you consider to be the Superman of the produce community?

Comments

  2. I get annoyed when people say cauliflower is boring. I’m like, um what?! Then I go off about everything you just said, and you can see their mind is blown. Pizza crust? Mashed “potato”?? 🙂
    Sara recently posted…the century clubMy Profile

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  3. I’m such a donkey in the kitchen that it has only been in the last few months that I knew to roast my (non-root) veggies in the oven. My kids have eaten more broccoli and brussells sprouts in the last couple of months than their entire lives combined, because of how crazy tasty roasted veggies are! I’ll try this salad and see if they eat it. You rule! Hee Haw.
    Suzy recently posted…Blended Family Friday: When Unicorns Spray BrownMy Profile

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  6. good gawd this looks scrumptious, i wish i could find just something to not love about this, but alas i can’t. i’m seriously loving all of your recipes. i DO love this albino broccoli freakazoid. when i was a kid i actually thought cauliflower was just pale, under-sunned broccoli. it is, right? it looks like a brain as well. despite my weird ideas about it, i always loved the stuff, especially when mixed with unctious avocado like your recipe, mmmmm.
    the first time i fell in love with Sir Caul was around age 12; my mom married my British stepfather and suddenly we ate all-things-British, which lovingly included baked cauliflower cheese. basically just a whole cauliflower covered in a cheesy, bechamel sauce, then sprinkled with crumbs and baked. i think it had an extra sprinkling of gruyere because my mom loves stinky cheese. oh yes, cauliflower. simple and divine, and is such a great flavor carrier…
    for our 2nd date, my husband and i made cauliflower pizza crusts. we made three versions of them because he’s a geek and i was intrigued and curious. who’s recipe and conoction would win. well mine did, of course. haha! i tried to let him win though, i said his tasted the best but we both couldn’t overlook the fact that both of his fell apart. but hey, it’s all about the flavor, right? flavor FLAVE!!!! booh-yeah.
    i think my superhuman veggie changes all of the damn time. right now i’m having a carrot frenzy, i can’t get enough of them. raw, pureed, roasted, sauced, fried, baked… i think i have an orange deficiency, or a carrot one. plus they are my excuse to eat dip. so yeah.
    flavor FLAVE!

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  7. I’m in. I’ve joined. After a last minute ‘it’s 50 and windy I am not going to Grill All The Things’ as planned, I tossed some cauliflower and potato in the oven to roast. Added some mushrooms in another pan, and had my kid boil spaghetti to go with the leftover sauce. I had a massive plate of roasted veggies and everyone had something that was good to them.
    This looks excellent, I’m glad you got up early to get it up!
    Oh, that sounds so naughty.
    Kirsten recently posted…Avocado Queso DipMy Profile

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  9. Unnf this salad is downright sexy. Pinning for later, don’t mind me. Cauliflower is one of the few vegetables I can get my fiance to eat without too much complaining, so this is basically a win-win.

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  10. This would probably be a bad time to confess that I actually prier broccoli to cauliflower, eh? *insert monkey with hands over mouth emoji here* That’s not to say that I hate cauli, but broccoli is my Superman *another monkey*

    In all seriousness, though… I wouldn’t throw this salad out of bed. Mostly because I wouldn’t want to pick up the mess later, but still 😛 I want this in my belly… in all its unstoppable glory.
    Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. dairy-free coffee creamer .My Profile

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  13. This looks so fresh and healthy! It has all my family’s favorite vegetables. I would definitely make this as a main dish salad for dinner.

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