Roasted Cauliflower Salad With Watercress, Walnuts and Gruyère Recipe (2024)

This dish was a hit, and very easy!! Although I admit I complicated things a little - instead of just toasting the walnuts as-is, I doused them with a mixture of maple syrup, tamari and a tiny bit of sri racha beforehand. This turns the nuts into little flavor bombs, and increases the adventure level. I used arugula with a little spinach for the green, and it worked fine.

I anticipate this becoming my go-to winter salad and look forward to trying it with broccoli, beets, and winter squash. Substituted arugula for watercress and threw in some dried cranberries. Was fortunate enough to be able to pick up some huge end-of-the-season cauliflower at the farmstand which they were practically giving away, which made the salad even more flavorful.

Made with arugula and frisée.
Was most enjoyable.

I didn't add the cheese and added pears. Really great as a substantial side salad!

I cooked this earlier this evening and thought it was just terrific. The proportions are perfect, the flavors are nicely balanced and the presentation is clean and sophisticated. I wouldn't change a thing. Kudos to Melissa for this keeper.

This was really delicious! Adding golden raisins next time.

I used beets and it turned out really well.

This recipe is clearly a good foundation for many wonderful variations. I used arugula, parmesan and toasted almond slivers. A hit! What a nice way to brighten up roasted cauliflower which has become one of my mainstay dishes!

I tried it with blue cheese as well. Both Gruyere and a blue are quite tasty in this dish.

This was really good. A small head of cauliflower threw off the diced cheese/cauliflower proportion so, lots of cheese in the leftovers. i didn't want melty cheese so, i diced for softened warmed cheese, instead. To bump up flavor, i dashed in a bit more vinegar and lessened the dressing's oil to 2 Tbs. Served it with Pan Roasted (Trout) Fish Fillets w Herb Butter (Julia Moskin). In this case, cheese and fish combo worked out alright, indeed.

This is a delicious way to get my husband to eat a salad! I had a bunch of spinach and used that instead of the watercress. And I used toasted almonds rather than walnuts. I'll be making this often this winter...

This salad is delicious, and is worthy of company, or a dinner party!

Good idea!

I served this salad at brunch with Heidi Swanson's egg strata & bacon. It was superb and guests loved it. I'll be making this again, and again.

Had so many comments on it from guests - paired it with a indian fusion meal. Made a couple substitutions/changes. Added Arugula/rocket to the watercress to give more bulk. Used combo of cider vinegars as didn't have sherry vinegar. Added some soy sauce to the cauliflower (as think it always needs some kind of sugar to really enhance flavor when roasting) & used parmesan as forgot to buy gruyere. Would imagine much better with gruyere but parmesan certainly works.

Still one of my favorite recipes!

Perfect winter first course. Simple and delicious.

This recipe is absolutely delicious! I really char the cauliflower and used arugula. A family favorite!

Not sure what planet 2 tbsp of EVOO are enough to coat a head of cauliflower but here on Planet Earth it takes 5-6. Utterly delicious ingredients though with a freer hand.

Forgot to add gruyere to the shopping list and substituted with parmesan. Also only had one bunch of watercress and so used baby spinach as well. Delicious.

I have made this a number of times and it is always a huge success. I've found 400 degrees is not hot enough - 450 for 20 minutes, flip the cauliflower up and 20 minutes more. Keep the florets small. Arugula is delicious.

Add lemon zest

I had high hopes for this recipe - I loved every component of the dish. But, roasting as directed resulted in a soggy, although beautifully charred cauliflower which lost the tasty essence of the vegetable. I would repeat the recipe but steaming instead of roasting to see if that improved the texture and flavor. I was wondering if even raw cauliflower would be more palatable. The addition of raisins or dried cranberries might also brighten up this dish.

Very easy and very tasty. A simple change: during the final five or so minutes of cauliflower roasting, sprinkled the grated Gruyére onto the cauliflower and let it melt onto the cauliflower and caramelize a bit in the oven. Otherwise the cheese bits end up at the bottom of the salad bowl and are hard to integrate. Store-bought caramelized walnuts are another easy simplification. Don't stint on the watercress ratio.

I love this salad. I use arugula instead of watercress. Everyone loves it!

A bit too salty. Also too much watercress?

Even though I live arugula, I swapped Romaine from my CSA share for the arugula. Love this salad, love sherry vinegar and Gruyere on top of loving roasted cauliflower, and can hardly believe I haven't made this salad in so long. Super easy--the most time-consuming part is chopping the cauliflower and then roasting it.

Was great with pear

Made with arugula instead of watercress, delicious and surprisingly filling!

This was fantastic! Next time, I will reduce the Gruyere to 2/3 cup as it was just a bit overwhelming.