Dishing Up the Dirt

Cauliflower “Couscous” with Cider Vinaigrette

I’m doing it again.

I’m turing cauliflower into “couscous” and tricking Taylor into thinking he’s eating the real deal. Yep, I’ve done this with pizza and I don’t think I will stop at this couscous either. There are so many other wonderful things you can do with a giant head of cauliflower and I am just getting started!

Honestly, the texture of this “couscous” is so close to the real deal that you wont miss a beat. The cider vinaigrette takes this meal to a whole new level. Don’t let the ingredients for the dressing overwhelm you, you probably have everything in your pantry and the flavor combination is fantastic! We ate the entire salad in one sitting even though this should serve four people.

This meal was light and delicious. It reminded me that spring is not far away. Our garlic has even decided to pop up and say hi.

Hard to believe there was 2 feet of snow covering the farm two weeks ago! I’m ready for longer and sunnier days spent in the dirt. This couscous was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Grab a fork and dig in!

Cauliflower Couscous with Cider Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 10 minuts    Cook Time: 5 minutes    Serves: 2-4

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped (make sure cauliflower is completely dry!)
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas (if canned, rinsed and drained)
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 of a small red onion, diced
  • 1 cup parsly, diced
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
For the Cider Vinaigrette:
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp dijon style mustard
  • 1 TBS pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • pinch of fine sea salt

Preparation

  1. Prepare the dressing by combing all the ingredients in a food processor or with an immersion blender until smooth. You can also do this with a hand whisk. If you're doing it by hand add all the ingredients first and slowly add the olive oil while whisking.
  2. Place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it becomes a "couscous" type texture. Don't over process!
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Once heated through add the "couscous" and chickpeas.  Cook only long enough to heat the couscous (about 3 minutes) Stirring often. Turn the heat off and add all the other ingredients. Stir in the dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Notes

Use this recipe as a guide. Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.


Leave a Reply

32 thoughts on “Cauliflower “Couscous” with Cider Vinaigrette

  1. Amy says:

    I really struggle eating cauliflower by itself. For some reason I love every other vegetable, but I just can’t love cooked cauliflower. I think it comes from memories of cauliflower in cheese sauce as a kid. Just can’t do it. (Sorry Mum). This however looks super delicious, and with the cider vinaigrette and the chickpeas the flavour must be sensational. I bet even my Mr would enjoy it (might have to put some meat on top for his carnivorous appetite though 😉 )

    1. Andrea says:

      Let me know if you give this a whirl and if you change you mind about cauliflower!!! Good luck!

  2. Grace says:

    Your pictures of this dish are so bright and beautiful! I love everything about this!

    1. Andrea says:

      Thank you!

  3. This looks fantastic! I love all the ways people have thought of to dress up cauliflower! Cauliflower couscous sounds like a win to me.

    1. Andrea says:

      It’s definitely a winner 🙂

  4. Helen says:

    Wow you must have read my mind! Having just been introduced to cauliflower “couscous” I was litterally scanning your recipes trying to come up with something to try on my own and this is absolutely perfect! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to give this a try for a weeknight meal next week. And yay for sping! Or at least the hope that it is coming soon 🙂

    1. Andrea says:

      I’m glad I read your mind! Let me know how this turns out when you make it next week!

  5. This sounds perfect and light and refreshing. I love to see your garlic popping up to say hi! Spring is coming!

    1. Andrea says:

      Yay for spring!!!!

  6. Got my fork… I adore cauliflour and love that you used it in place of couscous. This looks amazing.

    1. Andrea says:

      Thanks!!!

  7. Lauren says:

    This is happening in my kitchen this weekend! Will have to serve on the side of some kind of meat for the man. Looks dee-lish! Have a great weekend everyone!

    1. Andrea says:

      Let me know how it turns out!!! Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

  8. This looks amazing! Cauliflower is so versatile and with your culinary skills, I can’t wait to see what else you come up with!

  9. cheri says:

    I’m on a cauliflower kick right now and love what you did here. Great recipe!

    1. Andrea says:

      Thank you! Let me know if you try it!

  10. Joanne says:

    Insert evil grin here. I can’t wait to trick the.boy with this as well!

  11. Isn’t cauliflower amazing? I just love the texture. Aaaand I just got back from the store with a head of it! Can’t wait to try this 🙂

    1. Andrea says:

      Let me know if you do!

  12. Definitely making this for dinner one night this week! Yum!

  13. April says:

    Thank you for this rescpie , I made it last night and it turned out great, made about 6 servings so I will buy a smaller cauliflower nex t time, love the dressing .

    1. Andrea says:

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!

  14. Ella says:

    Hey Andrea, tonight is the second time we’ve made this recipe and my whole family LOVES. Both times we have used 1 whole can of chickpeas and swapped walnuts for pine nuts. Fantastically easy delicious recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!

    1. Andrea says:

      I’m so happy you and your family love the recipe as much as we do! Thanks for the comment!

  15. Kim says:

    Just made this and love it. I used Vidalia onions instead of red. It will be my lunch for the week!

    1. Andrea says:

      Yay! I’m so happy you enjoyed this as much as we do!

  16. Wendy says:

    Andrea, this is DELICIOUS!! Heavenly! And I’m not even a big fan of cauliflower!

    1. Andrea says:

      Woohoo!!! Taylor isn’t a huge fan of cauliflower either and he loves it too. So happy you gave it a whirl and enjoyed it!

  17. Charlotte says:

    I just made this for dinner (had some cauliflower and no idea what to do with it, so I searched your site!) and OH MAN WAS IT GOOD!!!!!!!!! Wow.

    1. Andrea says:

      I’m so happy you loved this!

  18. Charlotte says:

    Follow up: I’m still making this recipe every once in a while, but I make the DRESSING pretty much EVERY SINGLE DAY! It’s good on everything– eggs, stuffed squash (also from your blog!), meat, roasted vegetables, on a spoon…. literally EVERYTHING. Cider Vinaigrette rules! Thanks, Andrea!!

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