Miso-tahini roasted cauliflower makes for a delectable salad with chickpeas, carrots and rice noodles.  MOLLY PARR

I find March to be a particularly challenging month to cook seasonally in. I do have a few go-to’s this time of year: Lots of cabbage, carrots, beets, and for flair, cauliflower. Roasted, cauliflower turns golden and is so much better than any of those faddish cauliflower pizzas from a few years back.

About a year ago, an email arrived in my inbox with the recipe for this miso-roasted cauliflower noodle salad. It was tossed with carrots and chickpeas, and the dressing tying it all together had ginger, tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil and tahini.It sounded amazing and, as luck would have it, I had everything in my fridge and pantry.

I made it that night with my dependable cauliflower, and it was just terrific. I took a photo, shared it to social media and promptly forgot about this noodle dish.

Flash-forward to last month when I treated myself to the Kindle version of the newish cookbook “Asian Green,” by Ching-He Huang, a Taiwanese award-winning TV chef and cookbook author. Ching’s plant-based cookbook was inspired by her husband going vegan, which he credits to clearing up his asthma and eczema.

Inside, I zeroed in on the exact same recipe, as if I’d never seen it before. And, for a second time, it was fantastic. 

Combining Japanese miso and Middle Eastern tahini, Ching describes this salad as “East meets East.” For the red miso paste, I used the darker of the misos that I had in the fridge, which was Sweet Tasting Brown Rice Miso from South River. I exchanged maple syrup for the golden syrup. As for the fresh ginger, I keep a chunk in the freezer, next to my cashew nuts, that I grated on a microplane for this.

I think I’m going to double the dressing the next time I make this. It is just that good. I’ve enjoyed this salad best this week at room temp and not right out of the fridge.

About a month after I posted about these noodles, the memory of them showed up in my Facebook memories. It gave me a little chuckle, but the joke’s on me, because I just bought more cauliflower and rice noodles so I can make this again.

with chickpea, carrot & noodle salad

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoon tamari or low-sodium light soy sauce

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 carrots, sliced into julienne strips

2 green onions, trimmed and finely diced

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, tahini, tamari or low-sodium light soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, olive oil and rice vinegar.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Prepare the cauliflower. Break the cauliflower into florets and place them in a roasting tray. Season with the salt and pepper, and drizzle over the olive oil.

Put the garlic, miso paste, tamari or light soy sauce and maple syrup in a jar and shake well to combine. Drizzle this mixture over the cauliflower florets, making sure they are well covered. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad. Layer the chickpeas, carrots and noodles on a large platter. Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well, then set aside.

Remove the cauliflower from the oven and transfer to the serving platter on top of the chickpea salad. Drizzle over the dressing, sprinkle the cashew nuts and green onions, and serve immediately.

Molly Parr lives in Florence with her husband and two young daughters. She’s been writing her food blog, Cheap Beets, since 2010. Send questions or comments to molly.parr@gmail.com.

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