A Riminati means ‘in the style of Rimini’, although the influences at play in this cooked salad are clearly Sicilian and North African. This is a wonderful dish; a million miles from something as wintry as cauliflower cheese. It presents the vegetable in a whole new light
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower, leaves discarded, broken into small florets
- Generous pinch of saffron
- 75ml olive oil or rapeseed oil
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- 50g pine nuts
- 50g raisins
- Extra-virgin olive oil, to dress
- Small handful chopped fresh mint
- Small handful chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
Method
- 1. Heat a saucepan filled with a generous amount of salted water and, when it comes to a rolling boil, pop in the cauliflower and saffron. Cook for just 2-3 minutes, so that the cauliflower picks up a little colour from the saffron but stays very much al dente. Drain well and spread on a tray to cool quickly.
- 2. Meanwhile, put the oil in a frying pan over a high heat. When it’s just starting to show wisps of smoke, add the onion. Fry briskly for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to look crispy and caramelised. Add the pine nuts and raisins. Stir and cook for just a couple of minutes (the raisins will swell and the pine nuts should colour a little). Tip into a sieve to drain off the excess oil and transfer to a large bowl.
- 3. To serve, toss the cauliflower with the onions, nuts and raisins and season to taste. Drizzle generously with extra-virgin olive oil and scatter with the herbs. Some people like to serve this with shavings of a sheep’s cheese (Pecorino is perfect).
Nutritional info
Per serving (based on 2): 634kcals, 52.4g fat (6.3g saturated), 12.7g protein, 29.6g carbs, 26.6g sugar, 0.1g salt
Wine Recommendation
Wine note: Pick a Pinot Blanc from Alsace or a nutty white Rhône.