Cauliflower Rice Salad
You know I love a good salad. I usually throw a bit of this and a bit of that at a bowl and somehow magically end up with something worthy of serving to my guests.
This is totally how this salad came about. Last minute dinner guests, too tired to get fancy on it and couldn’t be bothered going to the supermarket. So I basically emptied the vege drawer (the only thing in there was a cauli and a half dead bag of spinach), perused the fruit bowl (what can I make with a lemon and 2 bananas I wondered), opened the top drawer for a snack while I thought about it (that drawer is where the dried fruit, seeds and nuts hang out) and this is the end result.
To be fair, this is a little more refined that version one. It had way too much chilli in it – but the guests certainly new they were alive! Bless them 😉
Anyways, go get your creative on and whip up this delicious nutritious salad for your favourite people. Or just for yourself. You’re worth it!
Ingredients – this will serve however many people you want it to serve. But defo 6 salad loving adults.
1 cauli – grated or whizzed to look like rice
1 tsp coconut oil
¼ tsp chilli flakes
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 ½ c thinly sliced dried fruit – I used figs, dates, dried apricots and cranberries.
2 T pumpkin seeds – lightly toasted
½ c raw nuts – lightly toasted. I used almonds.
1 T sunflower seeds
1 T hemp seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
Big handful finely chopped parsley – stalks and all. You grew them or paid for them, so best you use them.
Very thinly sliced peel of 1 large lemon
Heat coconut oil over medium heat, in a pan that will be big enough to hold the cauli rice. You may need to do in 2 batches.
Once oil is heated, add the cauli and cook for approx. 10mins until starting to go soft. Constantly move the cauli around the pan, so that you get some colour on it, however you don’t want it getting too brown. Sprinkle over chilli flakes and turmeric. It will look like there isn’t enough of either of these to go around, however keep moving the cauli around the pan for another 4-5mins and it will sort itself out.
Remove from heat and spread out over a couple of large plates to cool. If you leave it in the pan, it will continue to cook and will go mushy.
Once cooled, basically throw in all the other ingredients and you are good to go.
Helpful stuff
Whether you whizz the cauli or grate the cauli, I can guarantee that you will be finding what I have lovingly termed “cauli confetti” for days on end. It seems to go EVERYWHERE. My solution…take a large chopping board outside, place it somewhere sturdy and grate away. This way you are saving yourself the aggravation of cauli confetti and the birds (or in my case, the dog) will be most happy to hoover up the confetti!
I prefer the texture of grated cauli as opposed to it being whizzed up. But you suit yourself. Both take about the same amount of time to do.
Also make sure you rinse the plates and bowls before you put them in the dishwasher. I’m sure you can figure out why. Yip. Cauli confetti.
The lemon peel can be a little tricky. You don’t want all that white pith carry on, but zesting it just doesn’t give the same result. I have a lemon zester than removes the peel in very thin long strands and this is perfect. If you don’t have one of these, peel the skin with a vege peeler, making sure not to remove too much of the white stuff and slice very thinly.
This is a salad that gets better with age. The flavours really settle into themselves over a couple of days. The dried fruit also softens and goes all little plump and juicy. And that’s a good thing. So make in advance if you can.
Like most of my salads, this doesn’t come with a dressing. It doesn’t need it. There is enough moisture in the ingredients to give it the texture it deserves. In saying that, we all have that one person in our life that will insist it NEEDS 4 gallons of mayo…it doesn’t. End of story.
Use whatever nuts and dried fruit you have in the cupboard. I like to use different textures and colours of dried fruit as it makes the salad taste good and look pretty. I usually add walnuts too. But there were none cracked. And I couldn’t be bothered cracking any, so this version only has out the packet almonds. Just make sure you lightly toast the nuts. It really does make a difference.
Like everything, feel free to add and remove at your leisure. Don’t have hemp seeds. Who cares. Love sunflowers seeds…add more. Feel like going a little fancy and adding some thinly sliced chargrilled red capsicum – fill ya boots. Don’t have parsley but you have an abundance of coriander – perfect. Throw it in. No lemons but the orange tree is showing off….add orange instead.
As I always say. It will be different. But different is good 😊
Enjoy!