Roast Cauliflower, Maple Carrots and Sunflower Seed Salad

This is a super tasty salad that I created last weekend for one of my lovely family members' birthday BBQs, and it was a massive hit! I was given the task of bringing a veggie/salad dish and was planning to make one of my fave salad recipes until I was informed that my brother was making a Chinese cabbage salad, and as much as I like a cabbage salad, I thought two cabbage salads at one party might just be too much fun. So I looked in my fridge and pantry and this is what I came up with: a delicious salad with a range of different flavours and textures to keep your taste buds interested.  

What you need: 

1 whole cauliflower, cut into florets

1 tablespoon of olive oil for cauliflower

1 tablespoon of ground cumin

salt and pepper

5 medium sized carrots, peeled and cut into sticks 

1 tablespoon of olive oil for carrots

1 tablespoon maple syrup

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons on sunflower kernels

100g feta 

Dressing (optional):

One lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tahini 

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 pinch of salt 

What you do: 

1. Heat a fan-forced oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Spread the cauliflower florets on one of the trays and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with cumin, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven, while tossing occasionally for around 45-50 minutes, or until tender.

Cut up cauliflower with olive oil and cumin, ready for the oven. 

3. Place the carrots into a microwave safe bowl and steam in the microwave for 2 minutes. 

4. Spread the carrots on to the second baking tray, add the sunflower seeds and drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup. Roast in the oven, whilst also tossing occasionally, for around 30 mins, until the carrots are soft and slightly caramelised and the seeds have browned. 

Maple carrots and sunflower seeds fresh out of the oven. 

5. For the dressing, simply add all of the ingredients to an old jar and shake, shake, shake. 

6. To serve, place the cauliflower on the bottom of the serving plate, followed by the carrots, and finished with the sunflower seeds and feta. 

And there you have it: one easy, tasty and impressive salad for your next BBQ or dinner party.