This salad, inspired by a recipe from <a href="http://www.themodernnyc.com/">The Modern</a href> restaurant in New York City, is like one of Shakespeare's comedies (the resemblance is uncanny, really), where every character has two roles: The cauliflower is both roasted and raw; the grapes are both pickled and fresh; the cheddar cheese is both melted and crumbled; the lemon juice seasons the vegetables, the white wine vinegar adds sharpness to the pickle brine, and both come together in a dressing.
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<br />If the salad seems daunting, here's where you can cut corners:
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<br />- Skip the pickling altogether; make the dressing extra sharp with an added boost of vinegar.
<br />- Don't spend time shaving raw cauliflower. Roast it all!
<br />- Don't melt the cheese with cauliflower—just crumble all of it into the salad.
<br />- Instead of making a separate vinaigrette, use the pickling liquid as your base, adding lemon juice and olive oil.
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<br />Looking to riff? Here are some ideas for experimentation:
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<br />- Instead of cauliflower, use carrots or broccoli.
<br />- For a leafy version, use radicchio: half raw, half roasted.
<br />- Instead of grapes and raisins, use fresh figs and dried figs (or only dried figs); in the summer, you could use fresh and dried cherries.
<br />- To turn it into a full meal, serve over rice or farro; with a soft-boiled egg on top.

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