Mediterranean Roasted Cauliflower Salad is the perfect spring time side dish complimenting any main entree or serving as a vegetarian main dish!
Although I’m an full blooded Italian I crave, like nobodies business, Mediterranean foods. Not surprisingly as they are pretty similar.
I never grew up eating black olives, it was always green with pimentos, Greek or Kalamata. We always had red onion, fresh tomatoes and of course fresh herbs in our house and in our meals at least a few times a week.
Everything, and I mean most everything, was topped with olive oil. My mom rarely made much with butter, except every lazy Sunday night like clock work she would make me and my three brothers the best grilled cheese sandwiches in all the land!
A squirt of lemon was always added to our typical fish dinners on Friday nights. As a child I could never quite understand why my dad was so in love with adding lemon.
But then I grew up and I realized how much lemon makes such a difference in any meal!
I never grew up eating feta cheese either but the flavors when mixed with fresh roasted veggies are undeniably delicious.
No meat is needed in this lovely dish because it’s perfect as it is. It’s a fantastic side to bring to a potluck or serve at a summer BBQ party.
If you’re not a fan of red onion of course you can leave it out. If you prefer different olives or another veggie please adapt as you think your family would enjoy.
BUT I will say one thing though YOU MUST NOT LEAVE OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP for this salad.
The cauliflower NEEDS to roast.
The flavor of roasted cauliflower is beyond amazing and so much tastier than adding it raw in this salad. Just sayin’.
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Mediterranean Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cauliflower florets
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced
- 1/4 cup red onion sliced
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives
- 4 ounces feta cheese crumbled
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
Dressing
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
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Lay cauliflower florets on a baking sheet.
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Toss with 3 tbsp oil and stir to coat well.
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Bake 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.
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In a large bowl add the cooled cauliflower, tomatoes, onion, olives, feta and basil.
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Whisk the dressing ingredients together in another bowl.
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Toss the dressing over the cauliflower salad and mix well.
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Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Lauren+Kelly+Nutrition says
May 5, 2015 at 2:12 pmYou are right, lemon is such an important addition! This looks wonderful, I bet roasting the cauliflower makes it tastes amazing!
Martha @ A Family Feast says
May 5, 2015 at 8:38 pmOh yum – this is totally my kind of dish! Sounds fantastic!
Isabelle @ Crumb says
May 5, 2015 at 11:23 pmI’m totally Team Lemon…. it’s amazing how much flavours perk up when you add a little acid! Love how you’ve used it here with the mellow roasted cauliflower and the briny olives… all this needs is a big chunk of crusty bread to make it a perfect take-to-work lunch.
Lora @cakeduchess says
May 6, 2015 at 6:27 amMediterranean (Italian)dishes are wonderful! There are so many healthy dishes to explore from around the Mediterranean Sea made with wonderful extra virgin olive oil. The lemon adds such brightness to a dish! Just love this salad, Brenda!
Angie says
May 6, 2015 at 8:01 amLemon does make everything better, and so does olives. We always have a stockpile. Beautiful salad!
Heather | girlichef says
May 6, 2015 at 9:39 amSo much goodness in this dish. I want a couple of warm pitas to scoop everything up (and into my mouth)!
Cookin Canuck says
May 6, 2015 at 10:53 amMediterranean flavors are always so bright and fresh, and this salad looks like it falls beautifully into that category. And really, you just can’t beat roasted cauliflower!
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos says
May 6, 2015 at 4:16 pmYou had my attention at the mere mention of roasted cauliflower and the other flavors – love them! This salad needs to be made asap, and served with pita bread 🙂
Susan says
May 6, 2015 at 9:44 pmThis salad is just lovely! Full of so many flavors that I love and I honestly wouldn’t have thought about adding the roasted cauliflower to it. I need to give it a try.
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
May 7, 2015 at 8:16 amYou’re totally right on this being the perfect dish for a summer BBQ (or picnic!) Plus I’m loving the roasted cauliflower!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
May 7, 2015 at 9:49 amCauliflower is so, so versatile! It’s fast becoming my favorite vegetable (and that’s saying a lot). This salad with all it’s big, bold flavors sounds wonderful! I can’t wait to try this!