Food Safari's cauliflower and cranberry salad

The taste of homemade molasses is magnificent – sweet, sour and beguiling and this easy salad celebrates all of those flavours and more.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

"Vegetables are front and centre in the Israeli world and colourful, flavourful, multi-textured salads are an indispensable part of daily life. Chef Michael Rantissi shared his secrets of making pomegranate molasses from scratch on Food Safari Earth, carefully juicing a huge box of ripe pomegranates and cooking them gently for many hours with sugar. Michael uses his dressing for this very easy combination of tastes - the pearl barley mixed with florets of cauliflower, the nuts, fresh herbs and finally that sensational dressing. The result is like a refreshing swim in the surf… everything comes alive and you feel great!" Maeve O'Meara, Food Safari Earth 

Ingredients

• 200 g pearl barley
• ½ cauliflower, broken into very small florets
• 1 pomegranate, seeds removed
• 75 g dried cranberries
• 60 g chopped walnuts
• 75 g chopped pistachios
• 1 bunch flat- leaf parsley, leaves chopped
• 4 mint sprigs, leaves chopped
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 60 ml (¼ cup) white balsamic or white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Place the pearl barley in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 25-30 minutes or until tender, then drain and refresh under cold water.

Place the pearl barley in a large bowl. Add the cauliflower, pomegranate, cranberries, nuts and herbs. Whisk together the oil, vinegar and pomegranate molasses, then season to taste and pour over the cauliflower salad. Stir gently to combine, then serve.

Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Emma Warren. Creative concept by Belinda So.

Brand-new series Food Safari Earth airs Thursdays at 8pm on SBS then on SBS On Demand. For recipes and more visit the program site right here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

"Vegetables are front and centre in the Israeli world and colourful, flavourful, multi-textured salads are an indispensable part of daily life. Chef Michael Rantissi shared his secrets of making pomegranate molasses from scratch on Food Safari Earth, carefully juicing a huge box of ripe pomegranates and cooking them gently for many hours with sugar. Michael uses his dressing for this very easy combination of tastes - the pearl barley mixed with florets of cauliflower, the nuts, fresh herbs and finally that sensational dressing. The result is like a refreshing swim in the surf… everything comes alive and you feel great!" Maeve O'Meara, Food Safari Earth