Chargrilled cauliflower salad with chickpeas and quick-pickled onions

1 Heat barbecue. Place sliced onion into a small bowl. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns and thyme in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When boiling, remove from the heat and pour over onions. Stir well and press onions down to make sure they’re submerged in vinegar, then set aside at least 30 minutes (this can be done a day in advance and stored in the fridge).

2 Place cauliflower florets into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3 Grill in batches 10—15 minutes, turning often until tender and charred in places. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool a little.

4 When ready to serve, add chickpeas, sultanas and herbs to the cauliflower, sprinkle over lemon juice and check seasoning. Drain pickled onions and add to the bowl (save the pickling vinegar to make salad dressings with), give it all a good mix up and serve.