Recipe: Cauliflower And Almonds with Parsley-Anchovy Dressing

This is a bagna cauda-inspired salad. It has the anchovies and garlic of the classic Italian warm dipping sauce for veggies. But the dressing is served at room temperature and is brightened up by a whole lot of parsley, borrowing a little from another Italian favorite: pesto. 

I love it on raw cauliflower, but you could also use blanched and chilled cauliflower if you prefer it cooked. 

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

 

For the dressing:

1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped

¼ cup packed flat-leaf parsley

3 anchovy fillets

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1 small to medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets or sliced thinly with a mandoline 

2 tablespoon chopped oil-cured black olives

¼ cup roughly chopped toasted almonds

 

1. With an immersion blender, food processor, or blender, combine garlic, parsley, anchovies, lemon juice, salt, pepper and vinegar until well-blended and finely chopped. With the motor running, gradually drizzle in olive oil and blend until the dressing is smooth and emulsified.
   
   
   
   
2. Pile cauliflower onto a serving dish. Drizzle dressing over cauliflower. Garnish with a sprinkling of olives and almonds and serve.

 

Comments

[Sara]

I made something similar to this a while back, but I roasted the cauliflower and dressed with anchovy vinaigrette, then turned it into a panzanella (on my blog). I love the look of your raw cauliflower sliced fine on a mandoline!

[Kumiko]

Sara, thanks for your comment and for visiting! I checked out your panzanella recipe. It looks great, and I agree, cauliflower is one of those often overlooked, underrated veggies.