I know things have been on the quiet side here. Sometimes you just have to take a little break once in a while when life gets in the way, but the holidays are over and it’s a new year. I haven’t stopped cooking for a second. In fact, I have tons of recipes to share. If you don’t follow me on facebook or instagram, please do. I tend to post lots of good stuff there almost daily, while these fancy formal blog posts seem to be happening much more infrequently – emphasis on the “much.”
As always, we’re still trying to eat healthy here. I wanted to share this recipe I found on the kitchn website, some creative licensing on my part included. I know it’s not very winter’esque, but I love cauliflower! I keep seeing these cauliflower recipes popping up everywhere. Has anyone tried making the cauliflower grilled cheese? Mashed cauliflower used in place of potatoes is really good. Throw in a little cheese and it’s a nice stand in for the spuds. I’ve seen cauliflower fried rice, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower gratin… so many cauliflower recipes! I included a few links to more recipes below.
The recipe said that by pulsing the cauliflower florets in the food processor, being careful not to purée it – you’d end up with something that resembles couscous. I was poking around online and found that some recipes say to use the cauliflower raw at this point, while other sauté it in a little olive oil so it will be more tender. In this case, I used it raw. The whole family was surprised at how good this was. It has an addictive crunch and my husband and I found ourselves unable to stop eating it – nom nom nom! Really delicious. Do you think this looks like couscous?
INGREDIENTS
For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Kosher salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Place the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking to emulsify the dressing. Set aside.
For the salad:
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 1 – 15oz can chickpeas – drained, rinsed and dried
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, chopped
- 1 large cucumber – peeled, seeds removed and diced
- 1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts*
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Separate the cauliflower into florets and place in a large food processor. Pulse, careful not to purée the cauliflower. Once it resembles dry crumbs, pour into a large salad bowl. Remove any large pieces that may have not chopped properly and run them through the food processor again. Maybe my cauliflower head was large, but I had to do this process in a couple of batches.
Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the cauliflower and toss to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the cauliflower and toss again. Enjoy!
* To toast the pine nuts place them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 5 or so minutes. Watch them very carefully. They go from pale to golden quite suddenly. Allow them to cool before putting them into the salad.
Some other fabulous cauliflower recipes:
4plates2table 
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