La vie est belle comme ça-  Salade tiède chou fleur au curry, poivrons, et patate douce, vinaigrette au graines de pavot et citron

 

We can go simple with a few ingredients, and get a flavorful and nutritious salad. Plant based meals make me happy and in a good mood, as much as running does. So let’s say today I am in an exceptionally wonderful mood. All I ask is to keep eating plants, cooking and running for as long as I can.

I keep forgetting to eat yams, probably because they were not a part of my diet growing up, and I discovered them in the US, so I always buy them, but never use them. I look at them every day, but leave them just where they sit, at the bottom of the refrigerator. Today, I decided to use them one way or another…but definitely the inspiration did not show up instantly. I had to “me creuser les meninges” as we say in French (translated into to rack’s ones brain).

Warm salads are quite a change from the cold ones, and give you a different feeling, you actually feel like you are eating something substantial and nutritious. This salad is absolutely delicious, you need to emphasis on the vinaigrette using Meyer lemon, and the best unrefined olive oil you can find.

For the greens, a friend of mine from Napa who came to visit this weekend, brought a bunch of beautiful black basil she is growing, so I mixed it with the greens I had, and it added such a nice character to this salad. It’s optional, but if you have some fragrant basil, don’t hesitate to use it.

Ingredients for 4

For the salad

  • 1 medium size cauliflower, cut in small florets
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, cut in small strips, then halved
  • 1 small yam, peeled, sliced (1 cm) then each slice cut in quarters
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced crosswise
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp curry
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • sald and pepper
  • mixed greens + basil

For the vinaigrette

  • Olive oil
  • zest of one Meyer lemon
  • juice of one Meyer lemon
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  • 1 tsp poppy seeds
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

For the salad

Mix all ingredients together. Roast in the oven for 20 min at about 400F. When roasted, remove from the oven and add 2 tbs of vinaigrette, more if necessary. Toss well.

Serve on a bed of greens, adding more vinaigrette if desired.

For the vinaigrette

Mix all ingredients together.