Hello, old friends! We’ve been busy with families, moving, working, etc., and clearly not with blogging, but our Jewish New Year’s resolution is to blog more, so when the opportunity came up to test out new recipes with wine pairings, we were all for it!
First up, this roasted cauliflower salad with lentils and dates. Sweet chopped dates makes this a Rosh Hashana salad that can be a perfect main course lunch salad, or a beautiful side dish.
This recipe comes from my (not so) new kitchen in New Jersey, which is much bigger and than my Manhattan kitchen, and has two ovens, two islands, and two sinks. (I still always miss New York City, shoebox kitchen and all.)
We paired this with the 2015 Mount Hermon White from Golan Heights Winery. This medium-bodied wine is fresh, vital, and drinkable; it displays bright fruit aromas of green apple, tangerine, lime, and guava, with notes of fresh flowers and a bit of grass.
L’shana tova!
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Dates and Lentils
Adapted from a recipe by Shoshanna Quint
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- salt
- 1 cup / 240 ml brown lentils
- 2 cups water
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 shallots, separated, 1 sliced and 1 whole
- 1 large handful (about 4 oz) raw almonds, chopped
- 5 fresh or dried dates, pitted and chopped
- loosely packed greens
For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 tsp honey
- Juice of one lemon
- 2 tbsp water to thin, or more to your desire
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425. Mix the cauliflower with olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, and salt. Roast for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the lentils. Place the lentils, water, peeled garlic, and whole shallot in a pot and bring to a boil. simmer for 15-2- minutes, until soft. Discard garlic and shallot. Add salt to taste.
- Whisk together tahini, honey, lemon juice, and water.
- Assemble the salad: place greens in a serving bowl, top with cauliflower, lentils, sliced shallot, chopped almonds, and chopped dates. Toss with the dressing and serve immediately.
