I was starting to do someone’s recipe for cauliflower salad and I didn’t like it so I changed the recipe into something completely different. The one thing that is pretty cool and interesting is from pickling the cabbage gets a nice texture. I thought that the pickle taste would work really well with the tarragon and it does. The onion jam puree just elevates it some and isn’t too sweet. Portions are difficult to judge because everyone likes a different amount. Also the size of the vegetables do differ as well. I’d say you should get 6 or more servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 cauliflower – broke down into florets

1 cabbage – core removed – quarter and quarter each quarter

3 cups white vinegar

3 cups water

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon honey

3 bay leaves

5 juniper berries

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

optional – a little paprika to sprinkle on the cauliflower

2 large onions – thinly sliced (onion jam puree)

2 Tablespoons olive oil (onion jam puree)

sea salt to taste (onion jam puree)

optional 1/2 a cooked beet – chopped (onion jam puree)

1 teaspoon sugar (onion jam puree)

1 teaspoon honey (onion jam puree)

splash of red wine (onion jam puree)

splash of red vinegar (onion jam puree)

1 cup tarragon

1/2 cup olive oil (about)

Directions

Bring the vinegar, water, salt, honey, bay leaves, juniper berries, and peppercorns to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and boil for two minutes and let them drain. Then use the same boiling liquid and boil the cabbage for two minutes. Take that out and let drain. Remove and discard bayleaves, peppercorns and juniper berries that you come across on the cauliflower and cabbage.

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread out cauliflower (if desired sprinkle the cauliflower with a small amount of paprika) on a baking sheet and spread out cabbage on a baking sheet. When oven is at 400 F put the baking sheets on the middle rack till the vegetables at slightly browned. (in my oven this took twenty minutes…but all ovens do differ) Take out vegetables when they are done.

Make the onion jam.

Put a sauce pan on medium low heat with the olive oil, onions and some sea salt. Mix well and cover the pan loosely. Stir occasionally. Cook till onions are clear. Add the sugar and honey and cook till it lightly caramelizes. Add the splashes of vinegar, wine and the beet. Let it cook about 10 minutes then take off the heat and blend up. (It will be safer to use a stick blender. (if you use a regular blender then you might want to wait till mixture cools some.

Make the tarragon oil

Boil the tarragon for twenty seconds and put right away in an ice bath. When cool pull off all the leaves and blend with oil. Then strain. I re-used the blended tarragon that I strained and blended with oil again and strained again.

Serve.

Enjoy!