No one will notice it’s not rice!
As a teenager my older sister used to make the yummiest rice salad. Full of corn & bacon and capsicum & cubed cheese, it was all bound together with Kraft French Dressing! We often had it with a barbeque and she was always in charge. I wonder if she still makes it the same way!
Rice salad doesn’t make much of an appearance on our table anymore. Being grain-free encourages one to think creatively! In this salad, I have strayed from the norm and blanched my cauliflower “rice” so that it is “al dente”. I usually would have used raw cauliflower but it was a pleasant change to have it cooked. It softened the flavour a little and some visitors, new to my table, didn’t even realise it wasn’t rice!
I’m sure that raw zucchini or daikon would work well too, experiment with the vegetables and let me know…
1/2 medium cauliflower
1 teas cumin seeds
2 tabs sunflower seeds
2 tabs pepitas
3 tabs toasted almonds
3 tabs toasted cashews
40g dried apricots, finely chopped
80g dried figs, finely chopped
1/2 cup sliced spring onions or chives
40g red wine vinegar
1 tab balsamic vinegar
90g olive oil
1 teas salt
1 teas finely chopped rosemary
salt & pepper to taste
Prepare the cauliflower by chopping on SP 4 until resembling rice size pieces. Add 100g water and cook on 100ºC for 7 minutes.
Drain and cool.
Add the seeds to a dry frying pan and toast until they begin to pop. Be careful they don’t burn. Set aside.
In the TM add the vinegars & olive oil, salt & rosemary and blend on SP 7 for 10 seconds. Pour over the cauliflower and mix through the dried fruit, spring onions, nuts & seeds. Taste for seasoning.
If not serving this straight away, reserve the nuts & seeds and mix through at the last moment.
