I have a secret to tell. I’ve been in a bit of a food rut. Each week I go to the market, wondering if they will still be there, like jewels of crisp vegetal goodness. And I can let out a sigh of relief when I see them stacked helter-skelter, waiting to be brought home. So no, my fixation has not been cherries, tart berries, or cooling watermelon. It may seem blase to some, but I assure you these beauties are anything but.

How could you not scoop up these lovely cauliflower, and bring them home? No bigger than your fist, with the curly greenery still attached, you know they are fresh from the earth. Sometimes there is a purple head of cauliflower, other weeks I have bought the romanesco variety, with its tight ringlets of flowerets; but this week I bought the basic white, a glowing green, and a gentle, pale orange. In past weeks I have roasted the cauliflower, or made a pasta with chile flakes and bread crumbs, but this week I tried something much more simple.

Raw cauliflower, chopped into a confetti of texture and colors, bright and crisp, made the ideal salad for a warm summer’s night. I dressed the salad very simply, just some fruity green olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, a handful of freshly minced Italian parsley, and a good dose of salt and ground pepper. The pungency of the red wine vinegar gave the cauliflower a sweetness, and the texture was rough, crunchy and crisp.

What was left of the salad I simply stored covered in the refrigerator, unsure of how it would taste the next day. And you know what? It was even better the second day. The salad had a moment to mellow, although it lost some of its crunch, the flavors were able to meld together so nicely. Who knows what I will do with my latest fixation for next week? Another pasta, or maybe I will try the cauliflower slow-cooked; let’s hope I still have the opportunity to experiment.