a clean-out-the-fridge salad
I spend a possibly unhealthy amount of time … oh you thought I was going to say scrolling TikTok and watching other people clean their apartments? I mean, yes, that too. But I was going to say debating whether one *needs* a recipe for something I like to make, such as a salad. Doesn’t everyone just grab random things that need to be used up and assemble them with a dressing? Yet my other favorite thing on social media is when something appears in my feed that I didn’t know I was craving and I spontaneously must stop what I’m doing and kick all of my existing cooking plans to the curb to make it. What if this is the one that provides this for you?
Thus, here is the salad I craved last week before hopping on a plane to Minneapolis. After lettuce has been so expensive, it felt timely to focus on one without leaves… until I saw the price of cauliflower. But the beauty of this kind of salad is that you needn’t feel overly tethered to these specific ingredients. This is merely a template for what I consider an excellent warm vegetable salad: a sturdy vegetable roasted until nearly scorched at the edges but still a little bite inside, so it doesn’t collapse into mush. Something salty and crunchy; here I’m using chopped salted pistachios but you could use another nut or sunflower seeds. Next it needs something complex like pickled or roasted onions; here I’m using segments of scallions because I have scallions more often in my fridge than I have almost anything else. A warm salad can handle an extra-zippy dressing, as the heat mutes it, so I’m using a whole lemon in mine, but to harmonize, I’ve also added bits of chopped dried dates (but other dried fruit would work too). Together this is perfect for me, and I hope it takes very few tweaks to be perfect for you too.
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book tour, book tour!
Smitten Kitchen Keepers, my third cookbook, has been out for exactly eight weeks today and nothing makes me happier than seeing how many of you are already cooking from it. The book tour continues this week with the 92nd Street Y (in NYC this evening!), then Austin, Houston, California, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Vancouver, oh and I just added a March date in Columbus, Ohio! All book tour stops and ticketing details are on this page, and I keep it updated as we add new dates. I hope we get to finally hang out.
Previously
6 months ago: Roasted Tomatoes with White Beans
1 year ago: My Favorite Lentil Salad
2 years ago: Lemon and Lime Mintade
3 years ago: Roasted Squash and Tofu with Ginger
4 years ago: Plush Coconut Cake
5 years ago: Sheet Pan Meatballs with Crispy Turmeric Chickpeas
6 years ago: Chocolate Dutch Baby
7 years ago: Blood Orange, Almond, and Ricotta Cake and Cabbage and Sausage Casserole
8 years ago: Key Lime Pie and Make Your Own Vanilla Extract
9 years ago: Pear and Hazelnut Muffins and Warm Lentil and Potato Salad
10 years ago: Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard, and Garlic
11 years ago: Buttermilk Roast Chicken
12 years ago: Baked Potato Soup
13 years ago: Black Bean Soup + Toasted Cumin Seed Crema and Cranberry Syrup and an Intensely Almond Cake
14 years ago: Clementine Cake and Mushroom Bourguignon
15 years ago: Chicken Caesar Salad and Fried Chicken
16 years ago: Grapefruit Yogurt Cake
Cauliflower Salad with Dates and Pistachios
- 1 large head of cauliflower (2 pounds or 905 grams)
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bundle (6 ounces or 170 grams) of scallions
- About 8 dried dates
- 1/2 cup shelled salted pistachios
- Juice of 1 medium lemon
Lop the greens off *half* your scallions and slice them thinly, setting them aside. Cut remaining whole and white half of scallions 1-to-2-inch segments. Clear a little space at the end of your cauliflower baking sheet and add the scallion segments to it. Season the pan with additional salt and pepper.
Roast for 10 minutes then remove tray from oven (leave oven on) and use tongs to remove just the charred scallion segments, placing them in a large bowl. Turn cauliflower pieces over for even browning and return it to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, until cauliflower is deeply browned in many spots. Don’t fear the char — it will taste good, not burnt.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the pistachios. Pit your dates, if needed, and roughly chop. Make a vinaigrette with 3 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of one lemon, plus enough salt and pepper to season it very well. Whisk (or blend, if you are as obsessed with your electric frother as I am). We want a sharp lemon dressing here, it will get milder as it coats the warm ingredients, but if it’s definitely too sharp for your taste, blend 1 additional tablespoon olive oil.
When cauliflower is done, add to bowl with charred scallions, along with dates, pistachios, and reserved scallion greens. Toss with dressing to taste (I use almost all of it), seasoning further if needed. Salad is good right away but it also keeps well at room temperature for a few hours. [Leftovers are great warmed in the microwave for just 10 to 20 seconds, just to take the coldest chill off it it.]
I want to eat this right now. BRB – off to the store for a cauliflower and some scallions
I made this intending it to be my lunch tomorrow but my husband and I accidentally scarfed half of it already! Delish, zingy crunchy roasty yumminess. I’m putting it in the fridge now so I can’t eat the rest…
Omg…Soooooooooo good! Amazing flavors. We are the whole thing in one sitting. Will be making this again soon!
I literally came here to look for cauliflower recipes, since my husband bought a head yesterday and I have no plans for it. Serendipity!
Oooh this looks divine. I wonder if this would get my partner to eat cauliflower. Hmmm
This looks amazing. Just a note that frozen cauliflower roasts up beautifully and many times in the winter is less expensive than buying fresh. My freezer is stocked with bags at all times.
Agreed on the frozen cauliflower. It’s especially great if you pop the sheet pan in the oven as the oven heats up; dump on the still-frozen cauliflower which has been lightly tossed with olive oil, s+p, and roast away. Looking forward to trying this!
Yep, also agree on frozen cauliflower, and it’s great for soup!
Oh this is a great idea! Cauliflower was $8 a head at my grocery store last week! EEEEEK!
Roasted cauliflower has a tendency to never make it to the dinner table at my house so this looks delicious!
Substitute for dates? Not a fan. Thanks for any and all suggestions!
I would think anything chewy and sweet would work, so I’d say dried cranberries or raisins. I could even see mandarin oranges being delicious in this.
I would think anything chewy and sweet would work, so I’d say dried cranberries or raisins, or even something mandarin oranges would work!
Figs, apricots, craisins or raisins.
Delicious! Made as written and wouldn’t change a thing. My husband is not a cauliflower fan but loved this. I made half a recipe (only two of us) and after using as a side for tonight’s dinner there is plenty left for another two servings. The charred scallions are a nice surprise and as another reviewer noted, the tart dressing “tames” the sweet dates. Or maybe it’s the other way around!!! Anyway, it’s an unusual collection of ingredients, but the collection works beautifully together!
Pomegranate seeds? I think I’m going to try it with roasted butternut squash. Both sweet.
Verry swetiful vegetable salad it so wanted everyone like It’s thankyou for latest update recipi
Dried tart cherries!
Golden raisins!
I like snipped up prunes in a salad.
Sun dried tomatoes might be nice too!
this looks delicious and I’m going to add it into our rotation as soon as I can get over the price of cauliflower here on my tiny, remote island. ($9 for a fist-sized head!!!!)
I’ve been recently obsessed with this app https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/rosemary-sizzled-salami-dates-and-pecans-recipe and i think this would combine perfectly with the cauliflower to make it more of a dish than a snack, and to stretch so I’m not using a whole log of salami every time I make it. (although salami may be cheaper than cauliflower so not sure which is the winner here)
I made this this evening with broccoli instead of cauliflower (because the shop had no cauliflower!). This was SO good- one of the most delicious warm salads I’ve had in a long time! After I’d tossed it all together, I added pan crisped chickpeas and halloumi, just for extra protein, and both were delicious additions. Can’t wait to make this with cauliflower next!
Woah that sounds delicious! I’m not the biggest fan of cauliflower but broccoli on the other hand….making your version stat! Have you tried this? It’s an all time family wide favorite. https://alexandracooks.com/2020/04/02/charred-broccoli-chopped-salad-with-spicy-cashew-dressing/
Hey, if you see, this, I’m wondering if you crisped the chickpeas and halloumi together in the pan? Have never tried something like this but would like too, as I find I need lots of protein these days.
Hello- I actually did! I drained a can of chickpeas, then got them going in a large pan, then added halloumi in roughly 1cm cubes once the chickpeas were well on their way to being crisp- they were ready around the same time. It may have been better to do them separately, but it worked well enough for me! I’ve also had great success with roasting both chickpeas and halloumi, so you might want to try that too, given that the oven is already on.
these sound like great additions.
I have all of this in my house, and I think this will be lunch tomorrow!!
Made this w/o dates. Delicious. It will be a regular in my house. Thank you SM for your always delicious recipes.
Amazing! I love the sweet, salty, lemony balance of this delightful salad. I added some diced steamed green beans and shredded fresh spinach to have some greenery. I think the dressing was perfect as written because of the sweetness of the dates.
why won’t this just print the recipe? I don’t want the whole post with lists of recipes from prior years.
Hit the print icon at the bottom of the recipe.
I believe she did, as I did, and yet the lists appear in the middle of the recipe.
Now fixed!
I saw this today and had just about everything on hand so had to make it tonight. I used walnuts and dried cherries instead of pistachios and dates. I used a Meyer lemon from our backyard but I actually wished for a more tart lemon to see more of that contrast. Will definitely make again!
I bought an enormous cauliflower last week because the price was right and I figured I’d find something to do with it, and here you are with the perfect solution!
OMG Deb I love your style, no nonsense accessibility. I have successfully made many of your receipts ( latkes best ever!) . Tonight I made your cauliflower salad with lemon, dates, pistachios…etc. Our cauliflower in Vancouver Canada finally came down to $3.99 this week after being $7.00 & up. So I bought one & quickly did the salad!!
Thanks..
My CSA box here in SF Bay Area has purple cauliflower, spring green onions, Meyer lemon and the most amazing fresh dates this week. Perfect! (If you live in San Francisco or Marin, where Deb is coming to the Book Passage soon, I can’t recommend Star Route Farm’s weekly veggie box enough. Usually the complaint is it’s too much vegetables to finish in a week-for $30).
This recipe looks perfect for dynamiting me out of my rut of roasted cauliflower with tahini-lemon dressing. (Not that it isn’t good, but enough already, there are still weeks of winter left!) I think I will substitute dried apricots for dates and will use the candied almonds from the apple-cheddar salad recipe in place of pistachios, both to save my fingernails and avoid another trip to the grocery store.
But next time I’m at the Middle Eastern market, I’m getting dates and pistachios, promise!
YUM! Had this for lunch today, and it’s how I want to eat lunch every day. So good. Thanks Deb!
Looks yummy. Will try. FYI: Trader Joes sells shelled pistachios — I have started buying them that way as they are among my favorite snacks. Not sure if they are easily available shelled elsewhere.
Incidentally, I bought a bag of shelled, roasted cashews at Walgreens to make this salad.
I made this last night and it was delicious! It will be on regular rotation…thanks!
Mhmmm, that sounds delicious! Any suggestions on what to substitute the scallions with (onion allergy)? I’ve been thinking about something “complex”, but nothing comes to mind.
Mushrooms are divine with cauliflower. Totally different flavor of course, but that is why this is a template. Carrots would also be good.
I’m doing a swap on the scallions for jammy balsamic red onions!
Maybe an olive or a caper? Fried capers would be excellent in this
Roasted Garlic?
I made this last night (because I happened to have a cauliflower, some pistachios, and a bunch of dates. It was fate!) and it was delicious! I didn’t have scallions so I substituted leeks: chopped them into 1/2″ segments and roasted them the whole time with the cauliflower. Yum!
This recipe sounds yummy, but we have an onion allergy to all in the onion family, including powders, salts, etc. Any suggestions for substitutes??
Parsley will add green, fresh color and flavor. Fresh celery would be good too!
Quoting Deb’s template from post: “Next it needs something complex like pickled or roasted onions.” I would go with something pickled that you don’t have an allergy to. . .
Fresh mint might be a good substitute for the scallions, and it goes well with lemon and dates.
I would try roasted garlic!
Hi Deb! Looks delicious. Could I make it the night before with the dressing and just serve it the next night room temperature? It would still taste good right??
Absolutely.
Ok so I just paid $9 for a head of cauliflower because that’s how badly I want to make this! Kinda crazy
Absolutely delicious. I followed your recipe to the tee, Deb. I needed no extra evo in the dressing – the assertive lemon flavor was perfect for the salad. I have a wee bit of the dressing leftover. A perfect dish to bring to the table. People will keep nibbling until the bowl is empty. One thing: my cauliflower took longer to roast/char. No problem. I just kept checking on it, shaking the baking sheet, and waiting for the browning to happen. Eventually, it did!
Delicious! Made this exactly to recipe for the first time for a guest, always a risk! But it went over smashingly. Highly recommend!
My cauliflower took a long time and was a little more steamed than roasted/charred. Not quite sure why that happened? Should I have left it in longer? It still tasted wonderful but I would love to solve that for the next time.
Jasmine, that used to happen to me until I read a tip about spreading out the cauliflower onto enough baking sheets that the pieces don’t really touch each other very much. That way they don’t steam and instead pick up a really nice crisp char.
Thanks so much Sheila! I will try that asap as I can’t wait to make this again!
This is an outstanding salad!! Very customizable as it IS a fridge cleanout salad. I used 2-1lb bags of frozen cauliflower spread over 2 large sheet trays, so as not to steam it. I heated the sheets in the oven as the oven preheated. This allowed the still frozen (tossed with olive oil) to roast as soon as it hit the sheet. It took longer to get brown than the fresh cauliflower but was more cost friendly, and I had it on hand. I used toasted hazelnuts as it’s what I had and also added some torn parsley for a bit of freshness. The bracing vinaigrette was perfect as written and indeed mellowed out bc of the addition of the dates. If you are a fan of Ottolenghi type of flavors, you’ll love this one!
I’ve got some cauliflower in the freezer and was wondering how it would work here, so thanks for your report!
Deb, I never formally said thank you for Smitten Kitchen, and now I should. I think I am responsible for several recipes earing status to “new and archived recipes most cooked”. The Apple Cheddar Crisp Salad, Roasted Tomatoes with White Beans, and Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup have been long time favorites in our home — to cook and eat. Last year the Winter Squash and Spinach Pasta Bake and Strawberry Summer Cake were added to my menu rotation. Not part of your list, Double Chocolate Banana Bread is now a monthly favorite. Smitten Kitchen has been a large part of my approach to cooking for at least 14 years — FOURTEEN YEARS? How can it be?? That is a huge chunk of my life – Smitten Kitchen was there through the highs and lows of those years, thank you for your humor, smarts, and great recipes.
P.S. The Cauliflower salad is a real contended for next year’s list.
Laurie, you’ve done me an excellent service by including exact recipe names from other favorites Smitten Kitchen has given us. I was able to look up each one, and have them marked to come back to for future meals. Now I have a priority to consider for what to make next, carrying not just Deb’s endorsement but a long-time follower and fan’s as well. -No need for me to look for other recipes yet in these categories. Thank you!
I only wish I had doubled the recipe- next time I will! And I will use a little less olive oil in the dressing because between the oil from roasting the cauliflower and that in the dressing it was a bit too much. Delicious!!! (And I’m usually a cauliflower hater.)
The electric frother for salad dressings has been a real game changer! Perfect emulsification each time.
This was wonderful! I didn’t have dates (just got them today from the Arabic grocery) but I did have apples… raw didn’t seem right, so I roasted them in chunks with olive oil for about half an hour at 430. I imagine dates are even better, but the roasted apples were terrific. Absolutely loved this salad; very hearty for lunch!
Is this 2-4 servings as a main or a side? Thanks!
I made this right away and we loved it. We had everything (including Meyer lemon on our tree), but scallions, so I roasted shallots. Chopping the very moist and delicious dates drove me crazy. I chopped and all the pieces stick together and won’t come apart. Any hints for chopping dates? I finally chopped a single piece at a time and dropped each one in chopped pistachios to coat before adding another piece. Slow process. There must be a better way.
You might try deglet noor dates in place of medjool dates. They are not as sticky.
I would try spraying your knife with either olive oil or canola oil or even baking spray before chopping
Try putting them in the freezer for an hour before chopping. It firms them up just enough to not stick.
I like to use scissors for very sticky dried fruit. So that’s another option—but freezing is a great technique.
This was freaking delicious…I made other things to accompany this salad, but they paled in comparison. Even my husband, who is not a fan of cauliflower, arm-wrestled me for the last spoonful. I won. This recipe is an absolute winner.
Hi Debb,
The funny thing about cauliflower is that, before I came to US, I’ve only had cooked, stir fried cauliflower. It is my Dad’s famous dish. It is cooked just like broccoli beef in a Chinese restaurants, but more sweet and crisp. In addition, the type of cauliflower you showed in the recipe, can not be found in the market nowadays. Instead, we had some thing called “organic” cauliflower, which is not in a ball-shape, packed densely. It is very loose， almost like a broccolini. I found it very interesting how produce are named so differently and cooked differently.
Any way, happy lunar new year to you!
I made this as instructed and it was delicious. I’ll definitely be making this on repeat. Thank you, Deb!
i tried this, and it was unique and fairly delicious.
We loved this! Made it tonight for dinner – had to sub dried cherries because I didn’t have any dates. All the different textures are great and make it feel very hearty and the dressing did not overpower. Unfortunately there aren’t enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow so I’ll double it next time. I like that the recipe is so easy that, honestly, you only need to make it once and you’ve memorized it.
Oh my goodness! It seems like every recipe I try from Smitten Kitchen is delicious. This was an unlikely choice, but yes, that cauliflower was alittle lonesome in my crisper. The salad was sooooo good. Had with frozen premade lobster cakes. Excellent
Trying to substitute frozen cauliflower, and online sources are telling me a 2 lb cauliflower has 1 lb florets, but you are using the core and I’m not sure what that means and how much weight it adds on. Here is a link which includes a photo of what is chopped off and discarded to arrive at the 1 lb florets– there doesn’t seem to be much core left; do you use the core that is shown as discarded here? Or do you think using 1 lb florets makes sense?
https://www.bitchinfrommelanieskitchen.com/2019/01/how-much-is-how-many-florets-in-a-head-cauliflower.html
Wowwww! i am going to try this ine today! Thanks alot!
Oh my goodness! It seems like every recipe I try from Smitten Kitchen is delicious.
I made this as instructed and it was delicious.
Used this template to make lunch today which I just inhaled – it was so, so good. The only things I matched were the cauliflower and a lemon vinaigrette – although mine also had some mustard and honey and dried shallots to round it out. I subbed mushrooms for the scallions, added some rotisserie chicken breast, and used some candied walnuts and craisins for the dates and pistachios, A nice whole grain would make it even more hearty as well.
Ok I’m so confused by this salad. It shouldn’t taste as good as it does but the sum is definitely greater than the parts. I can’t stop eating it. As I was prepping it I kept thinking “ok, what do I need to make with this” – the answer is absolutely nothing. Trust me, make it for lunch today.
I made this tonight with half frozen cauliflower and half frozen broccoli, topping it with minced shallots before roasting. It came out perfect!
I must look out for your cookbook in our Australian bookshops, I love all your recipes so would love to have access to your cookbooks. This recipe is perfect, and exactly suited to my taste for a warm salad. I can relate to everything you have said in your first paragraph.It’s happening to me right now, ha, ha.
Made this tonight for dinner. Absolutely delicious! Loved the little bits of dates hidden in the salad.
I made this and since it was too tarty, next time I’d just use the juice of 1/2 a lemon instead of a whole. I also added goat cheese which enhanced it nicely. Delicious warm salad for a winter day!
I love this salad and keep thinking goat cheese would definitely enhance it, or even Feta.
I used this recipe as inspiration but used romesco, cranberries, and cashews since that what I had. It was excellent. I love the idea for roasting the scallions they really made the dish.
Super delicious- subbed sliced almonds because that’s what I had at home. i think it is even better the next day, more muted.
O.M.G.
I had planned to make this for my book group, but one-by-one they cancelled due to illness. So, I made it anyway. And then I ate it. Almost all of it. It is that good.
I’m not a big recipe follower, but I followed the recipe to a “t” (with the possible exception that when I was juicing the lemon, pieces of the pulp fell into the bowl and I left them in there). I wouldn’t change a thing. Except to make more. Way more.
I made this tonight, followed the recipe exactly and served it over a bed of arugula and farro to make it a meal. Delicious!
This was SO good. Great for packing for lunch too. A winner.
I made this for dinner last night, and it was scrumptious! I loved it and it will be a staple in my recipe box from now on. Thank you for such a great and different recipe. I was surprised at how sweet the scallion got when they were roasted.
This was delish! I added preserved lemon for even more salty lemon sharpness. And served on a bed of arugula. Thanks for always having reliable and stellar recipes!
I always want to make everything you post Deb! Looks delish and healthy too – I’m trying to eat more veggies and this will make it easier.
Wow, I could have eaten the entire bowl in one setting but I practiced a little self restraint so I could have it for lunch this week. This is a recipe where the result is a magical and harmonious blend that is so much more than the sum of its ingredients. To me this is the perfect recipe.
i made this salad for the first time today. it test was really good. and this was a great recipe. thank you for the sharing
Made something similar with Brussels sprouts the other day, also delicious
This salad was fantastic! I double the recipe and added goat cheese crumbles over a bed of quinoa. Yummy!
Made this and am another one who could eat the whole thing. I used sliced almonds since the pistachios I had have disappeared, and even tho they were roasted just short of burnt they worked great. As soon as I replace the pistachios I intend to make it again. Perfect in every way!
Loved this! So simple and easy to adapt with what I had on hand. Next time I make this, I think I’m going to make up a little more dressing and add some quinoa or farro to add a little more bulk.
Quite delicious with apricots instead of dates and no scallions.
This was delicious! And a great way to use those three dates that were lingering in the fridge.
¡Excelente artículo! Contenido rico en información interesante y útil. Gracias por compartir. ¡Voy a guardar este sitio web en mis favoritos!
I have made this salad twice in the last week. Once w/ almonds and then I bought pistachios and both are fantastic. I adore roasted cauliflower and this just elevates it. So delicious.
I’m looking for the nutritional value information so I can input into my food diary.
Good recipes..
It is really appetizing and the pistachios go very well together whit the cauliflower.
This was good! I thought it needed a little more of a briney taste, so added capers. And to make it a full meal for weekday lunches, I mixed in cooked farro, arugula, and jarred tuna. We all (two adults + one five-year old) loved it!
SO GOOD. I saw this and had to make it, but decided to use what I had (broccoli + dried cranberries, combo of pistachios and toasted sunflower seeds, combo of scallions and sliced white onion). It was delicious.
Excellent. I had this over a spring mix for lunch. It was super refreshing!
This delicious cauliflower salad with dates and pistachios is a great way to enjoy the freshness of cauliflower in a salad. The sweetness of the dates and the crunch of the pistachios add a unique flavor to this dish! Loved your recipe!!
-Jack from SkilletGuy.com
I LOVE clean-out-the-fridge recipes, and I’m always looking for new ideas. This is a creative use of cauliflower!
I’ll make this one again! I made it my first time for a potluck last week where foods would be sitting at room temperature until all arrived and folks got their initial greetings out of the way. Delicious! But after a couple of hours, the appeal of the visuals with this salad had all merged into dirty, dark colors. It was the color of the interior of the dates. While the flavors were still good, I’d recommend keeping a small baggie on hand of small green onion rounds to freshen the look after the dates have colored the entire salad.
……Note: my husband doesn’t like cauliflower nor dates, but his initial tasting met with approval. -Not a big fan, but he will eat it. He said he was picking up an unpleasant aftertaste. Hummm. I had no such reaction.
Even though I already had two pounds of dates on hand, the next time cauliflower is on sale, I’ll probably make this with raisins, dried cranberries, and maybe Grannie Smith apples (lightly microwaved) since my dates are so moist and the dark color of chopped dates permeated all pretty quickly. If I find I’ve got dried apricots, that should be a good alternative also.
I might also hold out a 1/2 cup or so and add a bit of diced, candied ginger (yum), hoping it isn’t too chewy to include.
This recipe is an absolute winner! I made it last week with cauliflower and sweet potatoes. This week I made it with broccoli, carrots, sunflower seeds, and golden raisins. Delicious. Deb, thank you for Smitten Kitchen. Your recipes are so approachable and quick to make without sacrificing on flavor.
This was delicious and easy and a pantry meal!
I used figs instead of dates because they were on hand.
Leftovers were great too.
Your recipes are very user-friendly, and they can be prepared in a short amount of time without losing flavor.
Your recipes are very user-friendly, and they can be prepared in a short amount of time without losing flavor. bitlife will be your perfect choice when relaxing with this dish.
I loved reading your article! Really good, I’ll save it on my favorite sites to read every weekend.
Absolutely delicious! We had to make a few changes based on what we had on hand but this is going into our regular rotation.
This was awesome. Leftovers were great as well as suggested, just knocked the chill off and wow! A keeper.
I don’t understand how you keep your pans clean. If you coat a pan with olive oil (lightly, but still) and then cook at that temp, doesn’t your pan become black with oil? What am I missing?
I’ve made this twice now.. the first time I forgot to get scallions so I roasted some sliced shallots. Both ways were really good. I also added a handful of baby arugula to the leftovers and it made a great lunch to bring to work. I did end up roasting the cauliflower a little longer than indicated because I wanted the charred bits, and they didn’t get dark enough until they’d been in for about 30 minutes total.
Yum! Made almost as written, two changes: I charred two bunches of scallions and used prunes instead of dates. I would use a bigger head of cauliflower next time. And maybe even add more scallions. I wish I had more leftovers for lunches but this is a great recipe.
Hii
Your recipe is great! I definitely want to try cooking all the dishes. Thank you for the inspiration!!!!
OMG! Made this with colored chopped cauliflower and it’s so good + SO EASY! Low effort + high impact. Definitely on the bi-weekly veggie rotation!
Very Impressive Work. I liked your recipe n will try to make it and Share my experience.
This was so good! I made a couple of substitutions, based on what I had on hand. I didn’t have any lemons or pistachios, so I used grapefruit juice and almonds instead.
Yes, you were right Deb: I didn’t know I was craving this and I spontaneously had to stop what I was doing and kicked all of my existing cooking plans to the curb to make it.
It is so good! Citrusy, salty, sweet and with a good char – delicious.
This is so tasty and easy. I did not have dates but did have some mission figs I subbed in and they were great. Added the zest to the dressing to make it super lemony, will make again!
Finally made this as per the recipe. Well, almost, anyway. Our garden cut-and-come-again scallions are too thin in body to roast, so I just cut a handful, sliced them thinly, and wilted them by adding to the hot cauliflower. Used the 8 dates, which were pretty large ones, so I should have known better and cut it down to 6. And my lemon was less juicy than some, so it only generated three tablespoons of juice–four or even five would have been better, I think. Still, it is a keeper, so to speak. Complex sweet, tart, crunchy, savory –it will be on rotation at our house for sure. My husband gave me the stink-eye on seeing the salad on the table, but after the first mouthful, he asked when we were going to have it again.
YUM! As another reviewer helpfully suggested, made with broccoli because it’s what we had. Omitted dates and was still amazing. All parts of this recipe were perfect char / crispness. Used half a lemon for dressing and the other half in a hot toddy… Thanks, Deb, for another keeper!
Really delicious! I had a smallish cauliflower and ate the whole thing. I cooked all parts of the scallions as I prefer them cooked.
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Absolutely delicious and so easy to make! It was a perfect WFH kind of lunch. I loved that I could use up the extra green onions I had on hand. Going in my recipe favorites deck.
I only made one adjustment. I used 4 dates instead of 8, and it was plenty sweet. The only other thing I’d change next time is making sure to use the largest cauliflower head I can find. I found there was a lot of toppings in relation to cauliflower. (Personal preference!)
I second this comment. I made with 7 of the 8 dates and wish I had taken it down to 6 but we also had added a bit more bulk (pearl couscous and 1/2 chicken breast). Everyone liked the salad — even my 7 yo! — but we had to pay attention to spreading the dates across each bite because they could easily dominate the taste.
This is a great dish! I used an air fryer rather than the oven. Mods: I used 4 Tbsp of olive oil for a mellower flavor, and I zested the lemon for the dressing before squeezing. I’m about to make it again for the second time this week!
OK honestly, about halfway through the prep for this, I thought “this is a lot of work for a freaking salad–it had better be worth it.” Spoiler: it was! I halved the recipe and had it for dinner with some rose. Yum.
Thanks for sharing such a awesome dish.
I can see why your pumpkin bread recipe was #1 in 2022. It is the BEST!!!! I have made it many times, and it is fun to make!!!! Your instructions are terrific, and the resulting bread is just delicious! I’ve shared it with friends and they all rave about it. Thanks so much!!!!
This was such a great article I love cooking. You should definitely check out using a portable blender to use while cooking I love using them.
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So I made this and it was FREAKING DELIGHTFUL
Even my husband who is normal meh on random things like this said it was great (and we had an insane day where it was just like “feed me and let me veg” and then the next day I get a text from him at his office saying how great it was as leftovers and I about fell out of my chair because I never get “my leftovers lunch was delicious”… he even said “next time we have company for dinner we should make this”
Basically this means, everyone make this salad and rejoice because its easy, and tastes great in any and all circumstances.
Made as written. It’s magical.
Wow. This is delicious – eating this tasty lunch as I write! I was missing a few ingredients – pistachios (I used mix nuts chopped briefly in the little food processor) and chopped craisins. Can’t wait to try it with actual dates and pistachios. Mmmm….
And using the frother was genius! Finally something I can use it for besides whipping up the cream for my coffee. Thank you for yet another good one.
Delightful! I made this with frozen cauliflower, sautéed shallots in lieu of the scallions, and red wine vin and apple cider vin in place of the lemon, served atop baby kale, chard, and spinach. Perfect vegan lunch!
Oh this looks so delish! must try very soon. Love that so many of your 2022 popular recipes were veggie based!
Super yummy! I used turkish apricots and currents instead & it looked as beautiful as it was delicious.
This was a fun change of pace! I had everything in the pantry, so gave it a try. Very tasty and unique. I would definitely make it again. My cauliflower was on the smaller side as there are just two of us, but next time I will plan for a bigger one. Great selection of ingredients!
Super easy, super good!
Easy to put together and even more delicious than I anticipated! Will definitely make again :)
Deb, you’re a sorcerer—there’s no way those ingredients should taste that good. I haven’t worked up the conscience to admit to my husband that it’s your recipe—he thinks I’m a genius right now. For lunch, this is four servings for us, which means we have something to look forward to tomorrow.
saw this, HAD to make it today. I only had 2 fat green onions, so roasted all I had. I am now ATTEMPTING to make this last for 2 servings. It’s not looking good for tomorrow…… Thanks again, Deb! ♥️
Perfectly delicious as always. I did not have scallions so subbed with some red onion; the scallions would just send it over the top. My oven is also notoriously cold so I roasted the cauliflower longer to make sure to have that char. Currently shoveling this into my face.
Oh lordy. Just made this and it’s ridiculously good. So simple, so tasty!
Just made this tonight for a main course. Added a package of Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro and doubled the dressing. Absolutely delicious.
My kind of Super Bowl food! Thanks, Deb!
I made this again today, but with modification since “one of us” doesn’t care for dates. So I used raisins instead, which was far more to his liking. I’d have included some dried cranberries, but I had an older package of raisins that needed to be used. I liked it even better as well. Why? I served it WARM, as the recipe recommends. What a delicious difference! Previously we’ve had it only at room temperature, or reheated.
A reminder that cauliflower, like many vegetables roasted at high temperature, does shrink by about 60% to reach a nice char stage. (mostly from water evaporation I assume.) So I’d say it would yield 6 servings maximum; or on a buffet, maybe 8 if presented with other sides.
At this rate we’ll get maybe 10 or 12 recipes this year? I’ve been a longtime fan and finally wanted to give back so bought the latest cookbook. Made the cover recipe. Very dry, even with additional spinach which is full of water. Not a go-to site anymore. Yes Deb has children to raise, a priority, but she has made other professional commitments and this site feels sidelined. Feels like a waste of time to look for new recipes.
Great suggestion! Not only is frozen cauliflower more affordable, it’s also a convenient option to have on hand, especially during the winter months when fresh produce can be more expensive or harder to find. I’ll definitely give it a try and see how it roasts up. Thanks for sharing!
So instead of a salad.. mix it into gnocchi. And add goat cheese.
So instead of a salad, I boiled gnocchi and used this as the topping.
And added goat cheese — per suggestion from another post-er.
nice post thanks for this.
So good! The mix of charred and raw scallions is fantastic! And dressing is just wonderful. But next time I’ll cut amount of dates in half – I like savory flavors more than sweet.
Delicious, tried and failed to save half for later!
great recipe. It looks simple to prepae
Love this salad!! It has become my favorite go to recipe. So easy and versatile with amounts. Thank you!
This evening, I whipped up a scrumptious warm salad with broccoli as a substitute for cauliflower since the latter was unavailable at the store. The taste was simply outstanding and easily one of the most delicious warm salads I’ve had in quite a while! To give it a protein boost, I threw in some pan crisped chickpeas and halloumi, both of which were delectable additions.
I’m already looking forward to making this dish with cauliflower on my next attempt!
What a delicious zingy winter salad! So easy & a great combo of flavors and textures. A self-proclaimed spinster I made this for myself tonight figuring I’d have it this week but I’ve already eaten half. Yum!
I combined this with Nappa cabbage and used red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice. My dates were hard so I microwaved them with an about a 1/4 cup of water and then chopped. So good.
I made this with crispy haloumi and it was hands down one of the best salads I have EVER had.
Omg!!!!!! This was fantastic… My husband and I ate the whole thing in one sitting! Only modification was we ate it over some spinach.
This salad is genius. Have made it twice now and will be making it again for sure! Salty pistachios, sweet dates, charred cauliflower, I mean this flavor combo is sensational!
Hi! First off, Wow!!! I would never have thought of mixing cauliflower with dates and pistachios, but now I have to try it! Three of my favorite foods in one! I absolutely love your page! I will be checking back for more healthy recipes for sure! Such a great, simple idea.
Wonderful! Served on a bed of greens it was a hearty salad course. The tart lemon and the sweet dates are a great combo.
While cooking my broccoli today for Easter luncheon for the Broccoli Rubble salad, I started feeling regret that I didn’t see this first. Looking forward to making this just for me 😁
This was absolutely phenomenal. Currently making it for the third time. I did find that even with a slightly oversized baking sheet, a 2 lb cauliflower and the scallions felt a bit crowded and made it hard to spread everything out enough to char rather than steam. I just left it in there a bit longer (or baked the cauliflower and scallions separately in one case), and each time it has turned out beautifully.
I have made this twice now! Both times the cauliflower at the store didn’t look great so I used broccoli instead. I used cooked red onion instead of the scallions since we don’t love raw onions. This time I added quinoa to bulk it up a bit. Really simple and great tasting with the sweetness from the dates and the crunch from the pistachios!
Any reason not to use fresh dates here? Still use 8 if they’re fresh? Thanks!
While making another cauliflower recipe from this site I found I had some excess roasted cauliflower. So I made just one small bowl this salad. It’s so good. The sweet and salty of dates and pistachios and the bright lemon were such a lovely combination to accent a slightly charred veg. I will make this again and again.
Well, once again you and I have a problem. Okay, it’s just me that has the problem. Like your Broccoli Slaw recipe, this one is oddly addictive. So simple and completely irresistible. Delish!!!
I made this exactly as written, and wow! This is one of the best side dishes I’ve ever made. It’s got it all: savory, salty, sweet, tangy, and simple to boot. You seriously need to make this recipe!
This is an amazing flavor combination–sweet and salty great textures, Exceptional recipe Deb. I used apricots in lieu of dates and added some cabbage to the mix—-truly a clean out the fridge dish that did not disappoint.
Made this again after seeing on IG. It’s soooooo addictive. I followed the recipe and added lemon zest to the dressing. Might try some anchovies next time in the dressing too. YUMMMMMMM
I made this and I really enjoyed it. Next time, I may substitute dried cranberries because I think the tartness would be quite nice. The dates I had were *large* and I think 8 was plenty. I’d also maybe had another herb component, something simple like parsley. Or just more fresh scallions – maybe get two bunches, one for roasting and the 2nd for the green tops. Delicious, Thanks, Deb!
Can I make this ahead? Maybe roast the cauliflower and scallions earlier in the day and then combine all together a few hours later?
Yes, but I’d rewarm the warm parts right before mixing and serving.
I made this for the first time a few weeks ago and I’ve been craving it ever since. The flavors are greater than the sum of their parts here. I just made another batch and it is SOOOOO good. Better than the first time, warm out of the oven.
Since first discovering & trying this recipe, we now eat it at least once a month no matter the season. It is just so delicious.
Deb’s recipe has evolved into the vegetable part for a bowl meal in our kitchen. (Sometimes we add some chopped Kalamata olives for the brininess.) We serve the cauliflower salad over prepared farro. Then we top it off with a protein, normally boneless & skinless chicken thighs that have been rubbed with some Mediterranean-ish spices and then grilled or griddled.
I’ll most certainly double the recipe when I try it soon! Sounds right up my and my friends’ alley!
Don’t make my mistake! I foolishly halved this recipe and boy, do I regret it. It is SO good. I used ingredients that I had, which meant using cranberries instead of dates and cashews instead of pistachios. Thank you Smitten Kitchen for this one!!!!
Made this for the second time last night. This time, a double batch so we’d have leftovers. The only change in making is to just squeeze lemon over the finished salad instead of the vinaigrette. It’s soooooo good!