Make a robust Italian 'green sauce' & combine it with roasted cauliflower for a bold flavoured, light meal. Leave out the anchovies for a completely plant-based dish (see Recipe Notes).
Put the garlic, gherkins, capers and anchovy fillets on a board and start roughly chopping with a large knife, combining the ingredients as you go.
Add all the herbs and continue chopping and mixing until everything is quite fine and well combined.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
Add a good grind of black pepper, then stir in the vinegar, mustard, sugar and olive oil to create a thick sauce.
Taste, then add more of any ingredient or a pinch of salt until the sauce is to your liking.
Set aside for 1 hour for the flavours to meld.
Preheat the oven to 220C / 200C Fan / Gas 6.
Put the prepared cauliflower, and onion if using, into a baking tray.
Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with the reserved anchovy oil plus the tablespoon of olive oil.
Mix together well until the vegetables are evenly coated.
Put in the oven and roast until the vegetables are cooked but still have some bite. Stir occasionally so they brown evenly all over. (20-25 minutes).
Remove from the oven.
Spoon over the vegetables as much of the Salsa Verde as you like, along with two thirds of the pine nuts and lemon zest.
Divide between two bowls, spooning over more of the Salsa Verde if liked, and sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts and lemon zest.
Omit the anchovies for a plant-based meal: replace with more capers and use an extra tablespoon of olive oil to replace the anchovy oil.
Roast some broccoli along with the cauliflower if liked.
For a more substantial meal, stir cooked pasta through the roasted vegetables after you've dressed them with Salsa Verde. You can also serve the Salsa Verde with Roasted Cauliflower over cooked grains such as bulgur wheat.