This week’s recipe for Cook the Book Fridays comes from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook, Everyday Dorie and was the perfect recipe for our “back to reality” week (back to online teaching/ getting over jetlag). I made a big batch of it early in the week and enjoyed it for lunch most days.
We’ve made tabbouleh before as we cook our way though other cookbooks – David Lebovitz’s version here and Dorie Greenspan’s version from Around my French Table here. But we’ve never made it using “riced” cauliflower. Dorie says:
The little grains in this bright, light salad, a culinary trompe l’oeil, are not cracked wheat, tabbouleh’s classic ingredient, but slightly crunchy grated raw cauliflower. The florets are cut from their stems (which you can use for soup or cook and add to mashed potatoes), grated and tossed with tabbouleh’s traditional flavorings: lemon juice, mint, parsley and just a little olive oil. Made with cauliflower, the time-honored salad moves into the twenty-first century.
I like to add golden raisins (for sweetness and chew) and chopped unblanched almonds (for crunch), but the list of possible toss-ins is endless.
I was somewhat skeptical about this as I am not generally a fan of things like cauliflower pretending to be other things (hello cauliflower “steaks”… just, no!). But I trust Dorie and decided to make it with no expectations of it tasting like the traditional tabbouleh made with cracked wheat, just approach it as a “salad”.
I also didn’t want to spend hours grating or finely chopping cauliflower (or pulling my heavy food processor out). So I used pre-riced cauliflower (it’s amazing the things you can buy these days!) which made my life SO much easier! Realised when I was in the middle of making this that I didn’t have a can of just chick peas, rather I had a can of mixed beans which I figured would work (there were a few chick peas in there too!). But as Dorie says, the list of add-in possibilities is endless!
This is a lovely combination of bright flavours (and colours) – mint, cilantro and lemon zest/ juice really fancy up the cauliflower (really a blank canvas) and the raisins add a bit of sweetness. Some flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper finish the dish. So easy and yes, SO delicious!
Does it taste like tabbouleh? Kinda sorta! Would I make it again? Yes – if I had leftover cauliflower, for sure! It’s also a great option if you can’t eat the grains in traditional tabbouleh.
Get the recipe for Dorie Greenspan’s Cauliflower Tabbouleh on page 95 of Everyday Dorie or here.
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Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of “Everyday Dorie” for review purposes. I was not asked to write about the book, nor am I being compensated for doing so. All opinions 100% my own.
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This was a pleasant surprise! I grated my cauliflower and it didn’t take too long…although buying it already done was a great choice.
David Lebovitz’s version is so different from Dorie’s. But cauliflower delivers surprising flavor and texture to the salad. Whatever you call it, I like that it’s veggies forward, accessible and delicious.
I’d make this again too– pretty good! and I like your pre-riced time-and-mess-saver.
You and I had the same thought regarding the cauliflower rice. We enjoyed this as a side dish all week too. It made a lot.