Cauliflower, Celery & Spinach Salad with Pine Nuts

Name: Cauliflower, Celery & Spinach Salad with Pine Nuts
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 60 ml walnut or hazelnut oil; freshly ground white or black pepper; 1 bunch chives, finely chopped; 3-4 cornichons, diced; 2 firm but ripe tomatoes; 4 stalks celery; 100 ml grapeseed oil; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 3 level tablespoons pine nuts; 1 egg yolk; 3 teaspoons verjuice; juice of ½ lime; 12 large spinach leaves, with stalks removed, washed and dried; a good pinch of salt; ½ small cauliflower

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

French

By Damien Pignolet

Published 2005

About

This vegetarian salad has a wonderful depth of flavour and is suitable as a first course with crusty bread. Garnish with some quartered hard-boiled eggs for a more substantial dish or serve with yabby tail meat for a more formal entrée.

Ingredients

½ small cauliflower
4 stalks celery
2 firm but ripe tomatoes

Europe
Oceania
France
Australia
Main course
Starter
Vegetarian
Gluten-free
Mediterranean

Method

Trim the cauliflower into florets about the size of a walnut in its shell. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes then cook in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes - the cauliflower should still be slightly crisp. Drain and refresh under cold running water then drain well.
To make the mayonnaise, whisk together the egg yolk, mustard, salt and pepper, then whisk in t