Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad
As soon as you put the word… Mediterranean … in front of a food title I get hungry. Say it slowly with me… Mediterranean …… Cauliflower …… Salad… mmmmmm.
I have two pieces of advise for this Salad,
First… before putting the Dressing on the Salad shake it well, really… really… really well. The last time I made a Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad I didn’t shake the jar very well and all the Honey stuck to the bottom.
Well let me tell you, this Salad is much better with the little bit of added sweetness the Honey brings to the table 😛 .
Second… Let it sit, similar to the Chickpea Salad… this Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad gets much better with age. Nothing says you can’t eat it right away, it will still taste good but I recommend making it the night before and letting it sit.
It makes a great Salad for a weekend party or BBQ, even a busy sports night later that week. Plus you know the leftovers are going to taste great.
Ricing Cauliflower
Ricing is easy if you have a Food Processor but if you don’t, don’t fret. It just means that you’ll have a little more chopping, good for muscle building 😉 .
If you do have a Food Processor grab it and set it on the counter. Cut a Cauliflower into pieces small enough to fit into the Processor. In batches pulse… just pulse don’t turn on… we don’t want Cauliflower mush.
We are looking for pieces roughly the size of Peas. Give each batch a few pulses and empty into a mixing bowl. If there are some chucks that are still too big add them to the next batch.
The rough chop
Almost everything else gets a rough chop, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives, Parsley, Gherkins and Artichokes all rough chopped. Keep the Artichoke pieces a little bigger, who doesn’t like big pieces of Artichoke in their Salad
Keep the Cherry tomatoes in bigger chunks too. I like to slice them lengthwise into quarters. If you are serving the Salad that night set a few pieces of the Tomatoes aside for garnish.
Give the Red onion a small dice… see if you can make the pieces about the size of a Pea.
Dressing & Tossing
Making the dressing is easy, everything in a jar with a lid and shake. Don’t forget to shake again right before pouring on the Cauliflower, we don’t want to leave any Honey behind.
Pour the Dressing over the Cauliflower and crumble 3/4 of the Feta over the top. Toss the Salad, and when you’re ready to serve garnish the top with the remaining Feta and the Cherry Tomatoes you reserved.
Serve with some Roasted Chicken or add some Melon and Prosciutto appetizers to the mix.
What kind of flower do you never give on Valentines Day?
Cauliflower!
Enjoy!!
Mediterranean Cauliflower Salad
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- ½ Cauliflower
- 1 Roasted Red Pepper canned or roast yourself
- ⅓ C Kalamata Olives rough chop
- ¼ small Red Onion thinly sliced
- ¼ C Parsley rough chop
- ¼ C Gherkins 5-6 Gherkins rough chop
- 100 g Feta crumbled
- 90 ml Marinated Artichoke Hearts preferably marinated in Oil
- 10 Cherry Tomatoes
Dressing
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- ⅓ C Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
Ricing Cauliflower
- This is not complicated but do pay attention to your food processor. Chop the Cauliflower into pieces small enough to fit into a food processor.
- In Batches fill your food processor halfway, Pulse the Cauliflower do not turn the food processor on all the way or you might end up with mush. We want the pieces to be roughly the size of Peas.
- After pulsing each batch a few times, empty the Cauliflower into a mixing bowl and if you see a couple chunks that didn't get chopped enough, toss them back in with the next batch.
Prepping & Chopping
- Not much to this except a whole bunch of cutting and chopping. I used everything out of a jar but roasting your own Red Peppers can be fun.
- Take the Roasted Red Pepper, Kalamata Olives, Gherkins and Parsley one at a time and give them a nice rough chop.
- I link to cut the Cherry Tomatoes into quarters lengthwise but any style is fine here.
- The Red Onion almost always gets a nice thin slicing in my Salads. This time it stays small but I dice it instead, about the size of a pea. I love the bite of Onion but in a more background kind of way, so I avoid big chunks of Onion.
- Lastly the Artichokes… I still give then a little chop but I like to keep the pieces larger. If you like Artichokes you'll love seeing chunks of them in your Salad.As you cut the Artichoke, if you find there are tough leaves that didn't get removed in the packing process throw them away… those tough pieces don't need to be in our Salads.
Dressing
- I use a mason jar but anything with a lid will work. Everything in, Red Wine Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Honey, Olive Oil, S&P and shake.
- This will only make a temporary emulsion, meaning it will seperate after sitting on the counter for awhile. Make sure to shake again before dressing the Salad. I would hate for the Honey to sink to the bottom of the jar and stay there when you pour it on the Salad.Enjoy!!