Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

This recipe is from the Foraged Dish archives. It’s a favorite this time of year, and the photos were old (and embarrassing! 😛). I made it for dinner recently and took the opportunity to reshoot, and write simpler directions. Recipe is the same!

Cauliflower: under-the-radar fall veggie (squash gets all the glory this time of year), but versatile, well-loved, and absolutely delicious. In this dish, the cauliflower gets tossed in harissa for a touch of heat, and then mixes with rich dates and pine nuts. Lemon zest and parsley brings brightness. A great side dish for a fall dinner party.

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

Published August 23, 2016 by Caitlin Sherwood

   Print This Recipe

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 active minutes

---

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

2 tablespoons Harissa paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup dates, pitted

Small handful parsley, flat leaf

Zest 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk Harissa paste with olive oil. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Place florets in bowl, and toss in Harissa mixture. Spread out on sheet pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until crisp on edges and tender. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat until golden. Watch them closely to avoid burning.
3. Roughly chop dates, and mince parsley and rosemary.
4. When cauliflower is ready, transfer it to a serving bowl. Add additional salt or pepper to taste. Zest half a lemon over the cauliflower.
5. Sprinkle dates, pine nuts, parsley, and rosemary over cauliflower and serve.

Cinnamon Maple Pecan Granola

“Hidden sugars,” I’m sure I’ve said, with sass loaded into my voice, about granola. When I have an opinion, I can get sassy about it — and I’ve been a bit down on granola before. In some ways, rightly so: the store bought kind is usually full of sugar, despite the “healthy” aura granola has compared to other cereals.

But homemade granola deserves a second look. I admit it. There are no hidden sugars when you’re doing the cooking, and even better you can tweak and adjust and make a version that totally fits your tastes.

In this recipe, the only sweetener is maple syrup (the flavor of maple syrup is perfect with oats in the morning). Everything else in the bowl is simple, too: rolled oats, pecan pieces, butter, chia seeds, ground cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Add that all to a bowl, mix it up, and toast it — you’re on your way to a delicious morning bowl! Easy peasy lemon squeezey. 🍋

The house and my clothes smelled like maple and cinnamon for a full day after pulling a big tray out of the oven. ✨

Pictured here: Granola, blueberries and banana in my breakfast bowl, topped with milk. BUT we also enjoyed this granola with yogurt (adds great crunch!) and as a desk snack (still have a jar-full for next week!).

Cinnamon Maple Pecan Granola

Published February 5, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

   Print This Recipe

Yields: 2.5 cups   |    Active Time: 40 minutes

---

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup raw pecan pieces

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut oil or butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In the bottom of a large microwave-safe bowl, melt coconut/butter. Add: oats, pecan pieces, chia seeds, salt, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Use a spatula to stir until everything is evenly distributed.
3. Spread oat mixture on prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking.
4. Allow to cool and store in an air-tight contain. Serve with fruit and milk like cereal, eat plain as a snack, or sprinkle over yogurt for a parfait.
5. Store in an air-tight container.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

You know that feeling the week after the holiday season, or a vacation, when you just want a bowl full of veggies, because you haven’t had enough recently? Because I do! And salads like this are the answer. A bowl full of greens, but also sustenance — sweet potatoes, walnuts and goat cheese!

This salad is one even veg-haters will like (said it already, but: potatoes, cheese, nuts… I mean is it even a salad? You don’t have to tell them there’s — ehem - kale under all those potatoes). The whole thing is drizzled with an apple cider vinaigrette which has shallots and dijon mustard and even a little bit of honey, for just the right balance of sweet and acid. It’s a pretty classic vinaigrette and one that you can use on just about any kind of salad or with any veggie (not just this salad!).

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

Published January 8, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

   Print This Recipe

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 50 minutes

---

Ingredients:

2 medium sized sweet potatoes, roughly diced

1 tablespoon oil, such as avocado

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 cups kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/16 teaspoon salt

1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Roast sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss potatoes in 1 tablespoon oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast in oven for 40-45 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soften all the way through and crisping on the edges. Set aside to cool.
2. Prep the kale: place torn kale pieces in a salad bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice. Using your hands, massage the kale with the lemon juice until the kale is bright green (Why do this? It makes is softer, easier to digest, and nicer to eat).
3. Top kale with sweet potatoes, cranberries, walnut pieces, and goat cheese crumbles.
4. Make vinaigrette: combine all ingredients for vinaigrette in a jar and shake to combine. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad, and serve.