Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad | TCC

And we're back, sports fans! Did you think I'd forgotten about you and The Cookbook Challenge? I know I didn't get a chance to post a recipe last week, but fear not - this weekend I tried three (yes THREE) recipes from Ms. Gwyneth's book that I think you'll all really like. I know the cucumber-avocado soup was less than thrilling, but this recipe I would make over and over again! cauliflowersalad

I love finding simple, healthy dishes that I can bring to potlucks, or make for my family when I go home, or just make a large batch of and eat every night for a week. I'm lazy like that, y'all, in case you hadn't noticed. This cauliflower and chickpea salad is just like that - make a batch, eat it up, bring it to a picnic, do whatever you want! Take a bath in it, it'll be just as good. I'm not sure about the moisturizing qualities of cauliflower but you guys can be my testers on that...

So, how do you make this fun side salad? I'll show you!

Ingredients 14 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 head of cauliflower Extra virgin olive oil Coarse sea salt 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon seeded mustard 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar Freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and chop your cauliflower into eatable florets.

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Step 2: Add chickpeas to roasting pan and toss (carefully!) with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Put it in the preheated oven (stirring once in a while - don't burn yourself!) for 45 minutes.

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A Note: I found it helpful to measure out the three tablespoons of EVOO added to the roasting pan, even though it was "just" to stir the veggies... I find I usually dowse my roasted veggies with much more olive oil than may be necessary when I just pour it straight from the bottle, and it was interesting to see that even though I felt like the roasting pan was light on EVOO, the veggies didn't burn and everything turned out just fine! So, just a reminder - EVOO adds calories, and sometimes you don't need as much as you think you do. The end.

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Step 3: Mix up your dressing! Add 1/4 cup olive oil with "a big pinch" of salt, "a few healthy grinds" of black pepper, and the two mustards and the vinegar. Whisk it up nicely!

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Step 4: Chop up some beautiful Italian flat leaf parsley...

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Step 5: When the cauliflower is roasted to softness (poke it with a fork a couple of times if you want, it's fun!) and is still hot, mix it in a big bowl with the dressing and the chopped parsley. Stir stir stir!

DSC_5956 DSC_5958I took this to a friend's picnic in the park for her boyfriend's birthday, and it was a hit! I will definitely be making this again. Thanks Gwyneth!

 

Any cauliflower fans out there? Will you try this?