Cauliflower Garden Love

The weather is weird here in Perth as we have recently come off a cold spell and are now experiencing temperatures upwards of 18C degrees despite it being winter.  It rained long and hard last night so I had a peek at my garden this morning and was greeted by the baby beginnings of cauliflower.  The plants themselves have been huge for a long time but it is exciting to see a cauliflower or two finally making an appearance.

I have never grown this vegetable before but I look forward to seeing how big they will grow.  We don't eat a ton of cauliflower as it isn't a favourite vegetable of any member of the family.  I prefer to eat it raw but everyone else in my family likes it cooked so I compromise and use it raw for my Cauliflower Tabbouleh and cooked for cauliflower rice.

To make the rice simply cut the cauliflower in small pieces and pulse in a food processor until you achieve rice sized pieces.  I stir-fry the cauliflower rice with a bit of coconut oil, a tablespoon or so of soy sauce or tamari, and some finely chopped parsley or coriander.  Cook for about a minute just before serving.  It is a great rice substitute or even mix it with cooked rice if you want to up your veggie serves and hide it in the meal for the kids.

Fresh Cauliflower Tabbouleh

After a big interstate move over the Christmas holidays, we have finally unpacked just about everything once and I am back in the swing of cooking and experimenting with new recipes.  Over the last six months I have tried to up my cauliflower consumption by trying out different recipes with marginal success. 

I can't say I am a fan of cooked cauliflower.  I do like soup but the kids are that big on it and I can't eat it all on my own.  Steamed cauliflower is a little repulsive to me and the kids don't seem to appreciate it roasted.

With the rising popularity of Paleo recipes, there are more and more cauliflower used in place of rice or grains.  I happen to love raw cauliflower so the Paleo way of eating cauliflower interested me.  I loosely followed a Paleo diet 10ish years ago when I was seeing a Naturopath for a suspected dairy allergy.  The Paleo recipes I was given were okay but did not have near the variety or creativity that we are now experiencing.

Our first try at cauliflower rice was a success giving it a gentle stir fry along with some veggies.  Next I went for raw cauliflower in place of bulgur in our tabbouleh.  I was surprised this recipe was embraced by the family and slowly have been increasing the amount of parsley until everyone was eating huge portions of it as their side with dinner.  This one is especially good with a side of roasted sweet potato or pumpkin along with your protein.  This kind of hot and sweet veggie side balances out the acidity of the dressing in the raw tabbouleh.

I have swapped out a more traditional lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar with mother in order to get a bit more beneficial microbes.  If you prefer the lemon then feel free to sub it back into the recipe for the dressing or use it interchangeably or half and half.  The sumac is unnecessary but has a tangy interesting flavour and I like it.  Hopefully you will enjoy it too!

Printer Version

• ½ medium head of cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
• 1/8 cup of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar with mother
• 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp. of natural honey or natural cane sugar
• ½ tsp. of natural sea salt  
• ½ tsp. sumac (optional)
• ¼ tsp. of pepper
• 6 medium sized tomatoes, largely diced
• 1 whole cucumber largely diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, largely diced
• 1 bunch of flat-leafed parsley, washed and finely chopped
• 1 bunch of basil, washed and finely chopped
• 3 green onions, finely sliced

In a large bowl, chop the tomatoes, bell pepper and cucumber.  Next, finely chop the green onion, parsley and basil.  Then in a food processor, process the cauliflower until it resembles the size of rice grains.; I usual pulse gently until the correct size is achieved.   Transfer the cauliflower to the large bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

To make the dressing, whisk together the cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, sumac, salt, pepper, and honey.  Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix until well combined.

This usually serves  six  people depending on the serving size.