Green brassica + chickpea salad with tahini pomegranate sauce and sunflower dukkah
Roasted brassicas are one of my favourite vegetables to use in salads. They bring substance and texture, and lend themselves well to whatever flavours you have on hand. I’ve opted here for the often overlooked romanesco, a spunky green cauliflower that can be harder to come by, but you can easily use cauliflower or twice the quantity of broccoli instead. Paired with a punchy sauce-come-dressing that stings of sharp pomegranate and smooth tahini, and a crunchy dukkah, this salad will become your go-to in no time.
Top Tip - when making the sauce, tahini can vary in thickness depending on the brand, so adjust the boiling water quantity as necessary to form a thick yet pourable sauce.
hands-on time
15 minutes
30 minutes
total time
serves
6 as a side
Ingredients
Roasted brassicas & chickpeas
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp cracked black pepper
1 medium romanesco head, chopped into medium florets
1 medium broccoli, chopped into medium florets
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
large handful of coriander leaves, to serve
Tahini pomegranate sauce
100g tahini
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
½ tsp ground cumin
large pinch of cayenne pepper
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt, to taste
Sunflower dukkah
40g sunflower seeds
½ tbsp cumin seeds
½ tbsp coriander seeds
½ tbsp sesame seeds
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp cracked black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan-forced (210°C conventional).
For the roasted brassicas & chickpeas, in a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, ground cumin, coriander, garlic, sea salt and pepper. Add the chopped romanesco, broccoli florets and chickpeas, tossing through the oil to coat. Transfer the coated brassicas to a large oven tray (or two smaller trays) and spread out in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes until the brassicas are tender. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
To make the sauce, place the tahini and 100ml boiling water in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together to form a smooth, thick yet pourable sauce.
For the sunflower dukkah, in a dry frying pan over medium heat, toast the sunflower, cumin, coriander and sesame seeds for 2 minutes until the seeds are fragrant and starting to brown. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind until the spices form a coarse powder around the sunflower seeds, still with some texture and crunch. Stir through the lemon zest, salt and pepper.
To serve, spread the tahini sauce across the base of a large serving platter. Pile the roasted brassicas & chickpeas on top of the sauce, sprinkle generously with the sunflower dukkah, and finish with a scattering of coriander leaves.