Cauliflower Tabbouleh is a fresh new take on traditional tabbouleh. The beautiful scents of the chopped parsley, fresh cucumber and mint, and lemons make this not only a visually beautiful salad but a fresh smelling one too, you’ll instantly feel like its summertime!
Traditional tabbouleh is made with parsley. Tons and tons of parsley. Tons of lemon juice. And a little bit of other ingredients. Traditional women, i.e our moms, would not be too happy with us high jacking the name “tabbouleh” and putting it on anything other then the traditional parsley salad. They do things a certain way, and its the way its been done for generations. If one deviates from the recipe, well no one does, so its not a scenario that would ever occur.
Because of the amount of parsley it takes to go into a traditional tabbouleh, one of the most common questions I get is whether there is an easier way to chop up all the parsley and the answer is, no, there really isn’t. Some have tried to put the parlsey in the food processor to avoid having to chop it but it makes it a little liquid and honestly it just isn’t the same.
Well the good news is cauliflower tabbouleh can satisfy that craving for something lemony and the fresh smell of chopped parsley without taking so long to prepare. Just chop up all the ingredients and toss. The addition of red pepper (preferably Aleppo pepper) gives it a perfect kick. Just make sure to pulse the cauliflower right before preparing as it gives off a bad smelling oder if its left out for too long.
Enjoy the visually pleasing presentation of all the lovely colors present in this salad. And for the record, I made this for my mother and although she refuses to call it tabbouleh, she thought it tasted delicious!
Try another very traditional salad called Fattoush salad . Both salads pair quite lovely with Chicken Shish tawook; a tomato and yogurt marinated chicken skewer dish!
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1/2 head of cauliflower about 3 cups
- 2 small garlic cloves minced
- juice of 1 lemon about 1/2 cup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
- 3 sliced scallions
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- pinch of rep pepper *optional
- Separate the cauliflower head into pieces and pulse in a food processor or Vitamix until cauliflower is the size of rice or couscous
- In the bottom of your serving bowl, whisk together garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper*optional
- Toss with remaining ingredients
- Add more salt to taste
SaveSave
SaveSave
5
Leave a Reply