Spring is the perfect time to fill a bowl with colour. Try some purple cauliflower or a broccoflower, and enjoy all the different colours and flavours you can fit into one bowl.
Words and recipe Vanessa Baxter. Photography Todd Eyre
Serves 4
- ½ head purple cauliflower
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- ½ telegraph cucumber
- ½ avocado
- 30g hard, aged cheddar, such as Manchego
Dressing
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 cracks sea salt
- 3 tsp lemon-infused olive oil
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tiny squirt of honey
To make the dressing, put all of the dressing ingredients into a screw-top jar, and shake to combine.
To make the salad, break the cauliflower into florets. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, and blanch the cauliflower for 3 minutes, until tender but with a bite.
Quarter the cherry tomatoes lengthwise. Halve the cucumber, remove the seeds if you wish, and chop into triangles. Finely dice the avocado. Sliver the aged cheddar for the top.
Combine all of the salad ingredients, except for the cheese, in a big salad bowl. Scatter the cheese over the top. Just before serving, give the dressing another quick shake, and then dress the salad.
Recipes from The Fearless Kitchen cookbook by MasterChef New Zealand finalist and foodie Vanessa Baxter. For more visit vanessabaxter.co.nz
