Roasted Cauliflower & Tahini Salad

I’m so glad Oklahoma is back to normal.

After a two-week deep freeze, the ground is thawed and the temperature is rising. I can go back to living my normal life instead of huddling under blankets and wearing gloves inside at my desk. It’s wonderful being above freezing, and something I always took for granted…

I’m now drawn to making spring-like foods as the February slowly turns in March. Before you know it, Easter will be here and then Memorial Day will follow right behind it. I can’t believe it’s already almost been a year since the pandemic really started going in the U.S. It feels like a decade ago.

I made this salad last week to try and get all my veggies in while keeping warm with soups and stews. I really enjoyed it for lunch. It’s a filling salad because of the addition of roasted cauliflower and thick tahini dressing. You can dress it up with more toppings, but I stuck to pepitas, avocado and hemp hearts.

Tahini can get thicker as you stir so make sure to thin it out with water and lemon juice when you make the dressing. The thickness is solely up to you, so if you like your dressing more like hummus use less water and lemon juice.

I used spring mix as a salad bed but you can use whatever salad mix you desire. I would avoid anything with cabbage, it might be too thick for the toppings and tahini dressing. Spinach would work well in this salad.

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower & Tahini Salad

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 45 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A hearty salad with roasted cauliflower, pepitas, avocado, and a tahini dressing.

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 TBS. za’atar seasoning
• salt & pepper
• 1 TBS. olive oil
• 1/4 cup tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 4-6 TBS. water
• 4 cups spring mix
• 1-2 avocados, sliced
• Handful of roasted pepitas
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower lforets with za’atar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay out on a baking sheet and roast for 35-45 minutes or until lightly charred and tender. Let cool.
2. Make the tahini dressing: in a bowl, stir together tahini, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper and water. Add more water and lemon juice to thin out the dressing if desired.
3. Make the salad: start with a bed of spring mix and top with roasted cauliflower, sliced avocado, pepitas, and hemp hearts. Drizzle tahini dressing on top.