Hello fellow Hive friends.
As I write this, one hour has past since I saw darkness through the window. The sun is bright again as the solar eclipse has come and gone. We live in Montreal which is in the path.
We stayed inside, after learning of the hype over the eclipse. The last thing we want, is to be part of crowds. It's a day off for us and we are exhausted.
Last night we served crowds in the restaurant, where we work. A normally calm day, turned into a repeat of Saturday night which was a non stop rodeo. We fought for our lives to serve hoards of locals and tourists that came to the city to witness the solar event. Some came all the way from Texas which is strange to me.
I am taking this time to complete this post which I started last week. I am sharing a salad put together from items in the fridge, that need to be used.
I had gotten a cauliflower with no idea what I would do with it. I usually just cook it or add it to a curry. I blanched it for a few minutes in boiling water to preserve it, until I made up my mind.
On my last day off, I decided to turn it into a salad, which I have not done before. I wanted to add a dressing that would offset the blandness of the cauliflower. This would end up being a zesty spicy peanut dressing, with Asian-esque flavors.
Cauliflower is not my favourite thing to eat raw, nor is it something that I like, too soft and overcooked. Having blanched it gave it a perfect texture to my liking. It had a good bite to it, while it wasn't hard and raw. I chopped it into thin bite sized pieces.
I had a savoy cabbage to use up. This is something I like in a salad when it's thinly shredded.
I used my handy mandolin to get the thin shreds that I wanted. I could have used a knife but my knives are not the best. Plus why not get some help from a gadget.
I always have carrots in the fridge, so I shredded some into strips with my little tool.
I opted for green onions instead of regular onions. I would be putting garlic into the dressing so the green onions would be more subtle along side the garlicky dressing. I could have saved the onion to just garnish but on a whim I threw some in as well.
I always purchase cherry tomatoes and forget about them. Not this time. I finally gave them a chance to go into a salad.
I don't have a mortar and pestle, so I chopped some peanuts as a garnish, using a knife. The little blender would make them too fine for how I wanted them at the time.
I usually avoid deep frying foods, but on a whim, I purchased a package of pre fried tofu. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I felt less guilty if someone else fried it for me. All of the vegetables would dilute the fried-ness of it. I do think I would just fry my own next time if I decide to live a little with some fun fried stuff.
This was heated in a non stick pan free of oil, since it had oil on it already. It would be the only warm element on the plate.
To create a vegan version of an Asian Thai Larb type of salad style, I toasted some glutenous rice which I've had for a while. This would be a good way to use some of this, that has been sitting in my cupboards.
As I toasted the rice carefully in a non stick pan, I added some dried chilies to be blended into the dressing.
When the rice was golden and toasted it was ground into a powder in a small blender. This adds a nutty flavour to the salad.
Cauliflower salad
600g cauliflower
60g cabbage
50g carrot
100g cherry tomato
3 tablespoons toasted rice powder
300gr tofu
1 cup fresh coriander
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped peanuts
3 tablespoons glutenous rice toasted and ground
Peanut sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/8 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons Asian black bean sauce
4 tablespoons agave nectar
Juice of two medium limes
1/8 cup rice wine or cider vinegar
3 or 4 cloves garlic
2 or 3 fresh chilies (optional or to your liking)
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 toasted dry chilies (optional or to your liking)
I personalized this recipe to suit my taste. The amounts shown in the photo changed a little as I adjusted the flavours at the end. Also I didn't use the peanuts in the dressing. I just used peanut butter. I've written the more accurate according to what I've used. It's all about personal preference. I like a good combination of tangy, nutty, sweet, and salty.
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
Toss the salad ingredients together and pour the dressing.
The mixture was placed on top of some lettuce greens.
I topped the salad with tofu as a garnish rather than into the salad mixture.
The rice powder was sprinkled on at the end as well.
With cilantro, extra peanuts, a squeeze of lime and some a few little fresh chopped chili, it was a good reminder of a Thai dish. If I had some Thai basil I would have added that as well.
This was a substantial meal even though some people would not think a salad could serve that purpose. For us it had everything for starting our day.
As far as I remember, this was the first time I've used cauliflower in a salad.
I realize there are many possibilities for cauliflower salad, since it is rather bland on it's own. I may try a middle eastern tahini dressing next time with different ingredients added. I would say that the possibilities for cauliflower salad styles, are endless.
Do you Hive chefs have some cauliflower salad recipes to share? I would love to know them.
Thanks for dropping by and have a great day
design by: @KidSistersPhotos taken with a Nikon D7500
How nice! I love this kind of salad! The fried tofu would give it more texture too. I just had very boring boiled eggs salad for lunch! Two booked eggs made me very full, with cos lettuce and tomatoes. It would have been nicer with your dressing!
I would take out the chilies for you haha.
That’s very kind of you! I could have one chili, that’s all! 🙀
Oh waoh ! Good health is good life. You totally made this so Continental and so exquisite my friend. The way you shredded the carrot made me love it more. A versatile fruit. I love this salad 🥗. Such a perfect dressing. Hope you enjoyed . Sending love ❤️ beautiful 😍.
Your comment is so appreciated my friend. I just came back from an Asian grocer and found frozen coconut meat. I thought of you and your cookies. I'll keep it in my freezer for now.
Thank you so much. ❤️😊
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Thank you @hivecurators !
@carolynstahl, you are most welcome!
How are you dear friend @carolynstahl good afternoon
It's good that you are enjoying your day off, after a busy night with a lot of work, enjoy your well-deserved rest
I love the ingredients you have used for this recipe, the dish looks exquisite. I appreciate that you share the method of preparation
Have a happy rest, and a splendid night
Hello dear friend.
I really appreciate your support and kind words. Have a nice night.😊
Hello how are you @carolynstahl
What a delicious meal, I like how you prepared it.
Enjoy your day of rest
Thank you so much @miprimerconcurso for your kind words and wishes.😊
I really admire that even being exhausted by work, you delight us with this recipe, it is wonderful, I love that dressing, I hope to prepare it at any time.
Thank you. 🤗🌹
And I really appreciate your kind comment. Thank you for that and have a wonderful day!😊
😊🌹
I also like to eat cauliflower as raw. It has unique taste. This salad is appealing my heart. Tomorrow is Eid and I can request to my younger sister to make this salad for me.
Thank you for your comment and visit. It is much appreciated!
My husband does not like any vegetables but cauliflower! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! I will definitely cook it for my husband 🙏😊
That's funny but I can see why. It's not green haha. I appreciate your visit. Thank you.
Was a nice and healthy salad,I love cauliflower so much and with all the others ingredients looks even more good, I never use toasted rice on salad but I must try to use it. ❤️
I have recently discovered that toasted rice powder makes a great addition to food. I guess it's more of a south Asian thing.
Thank you for your kind comment and visit.😊
I would never think to combine cauliflower with tofu as a salad, or to toast raw rice and ground it. This looks so interesting and flavoursome
The salad is kind of a vegan version of Larb salad which I guess is popular in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Instead of the meat I used cauliflower and tofu. Although peanut is not usually part of a Larb dressing. Toasted rice is.
Thank you @livinguktaiwan 😊
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Hi Carol,
This salad looks delicious with so much colorful, crunchy, exquisite flavors and most of all the peanut sauce, mind-blowingly delicious!
You are too kind @aguamiel 😊 I thank you very much!
It is very delicious and full of nutrients salad, I would like to make it sometime in summer. you are the best hive chef, dear friend, everything you do is always perfect. A hug :)
I appreciate your kind words but I am not the best. I learn many things from you and others here.
Thank you for your lovely praise my friend.❤️
Wow! Instantly you thought and made such a delicious salad with cauliflower and other ingredients 🤤
The image of the peanut dressing drizzling on the salad made me very hungry, haha. Today we had sauteed veggies and spaghetti for dinner, nothing special like your beautiful salad, but it had cauliflower. I bought it to try to make the vegan steak, but I cut it too thin and it wasn't going to work.
Salads with cauliflower? Well here the custom is to sauté or steam it with broccoli, carrots, zucchini and onion. But this is not a proper salad, I guess.
I'll try to make a version of this peanut dressing with the ingredients I have. It's just too tempting 🤤
As always, your dish is beautiful ❤️
Oh, and what you did with the rice. I loved it. Never seen that before. I must try it too!
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