When you’re home alone with the baby (or if you’re the only one in the house that eats vegetables), then a full head of cauliflower is a lot to get through.  This salad is what happened as a result of wanting to save half a head of the stuff from certain doom as a compost corpse.  It’s loosely based on the recipe found here but adapted to have a texture similar to dryer tabouleh and spicing more Middle Eastern.

Ingredients:

•  2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups cooked black or white chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• 5-6 scallions, chopped fine into rings
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, riced in a food processor (don’t overdo it or you’ll purée the poor thing)
• 1-2 grated carrots
• 2 tablespoons currants
• 1 tablespoon sliced kalamata olives
• 1 teaspoon baharat (I like the Turkish-style one Silk Road Spice Merchants makes)
• avocado slices for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil at medium heat in a large pan or wok and add the chick peas.  Sautée 2-3 minutes and then add the soy sauce.  Cook down until reduced by about half.
2. Add the pumpkin and sunflower seeds and cook, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated.
3. Add the scallions and sauté everything for 2-3 minutes more adding a bit more oil if necessary.
4. Add the cauliflower ”couscous”, the grated carrot, the currants, the olives and the baharat.  Toss well to distribute the spice mixture evenly throughout the dish.
5. Cook for a few minutes until everything is warm.  The vegetables should still be crunchy.

The salad can be served warm, cold or at room temperature with avocado slices on top for garnish (and to add some thick and creamy to the drier texture of the salad).  This recipe makes 2-3 servings as a main dish or 6-8 as a side.