salad with spinach, chickpeas, roasted cauliflower, and spicy crunchy maple cashews

this salad is super simple and totally delicious. i’m eating my second bowl while writing this, even. according to you guys, you hate cauliflower, and i don’t get it! maybe you’ve had one too many raw stalks at a stale party, or too many over-boiled bunches when you were a kid. try them again roasted, like in this salad, and i think you might change your mind!

1. break apart 3-4 cups cauliflower and place them in a baking pan. roast for 20-30 minutes at 400F or until they start to brown on the edges.
2. drain 1 can chickpeas or cook and cool 1 1/2 cups chickpeas.
3. rinse off 4-5 cups spinach.
4. in a sautee pan, place 3/4 cup raw cashews, 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 2 tbsp brown sugar, a tiny dash of cayenne powder, and some smoked sea salt. (if you don’t have smoked sea salt, use sea salt and a couple dashes liquid smoke, or just plain sea salt.) stir on medium heat until everything is coated and the liquid starts bubbling, about five minutes. pour everything out onto a non-stick surface (like parchment paper) and let cool. 
5. assemble your salad! serves 4 hungryish people.

i love the combination of textures and temperature in this salad. you’ve got cold crispy spinach, soft salty chickpeas, crunchy spicy sweet cashews and seeds, and juicy & roasted cauliflower. so good :) hope you enjoy it!