I promise you no chicken will meet her demise in the making of this salad. I call it “chicken” salad because the roasted cauliflower stands in visually for pieces of white meat chicken. Use it to top bruschetti, for sandwiches or as part of a salad bar. Full recipe:
Preheat oven to 400º F.
A 1 1/2-2 pound cauliflower
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
1 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon mayonnaise of choice
1/2 cup olives, pitted and chopped
2 stocks celery, diced
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
seasonings: ume vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper
Wash the cauliflower, cut off the leaves and stem and save for vegetable stock. Cut out the core, and dice. Cut the remaining cauliflower into 1/2″-inch slices. Line a cookie sheet pan with parchment paper, put the cauliflower and garlic on the cookie sheet, sprinkle on a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix into the cauliflower, spread evenly on the sheet pan and roast in a 400º F oven about one-half hour or until cauliflower is golden and lightly caramelized on the bottom.
Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. When cauliflower is ready, chop it up to whatever size pieces you wish, put into a bowl with the other ingredients. Gently toss everything to combine, adding a little ume vinager, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Save some of the green onion for garnish.
This is one of my favorites. I mentioned it to a group of foodies recently. They very seriously responded by telling me vegetarian food should never be named as fake non-vegetarian food. My response: lighten up! They need to practice carving whimsical creatures from fruits and veggies as as part of their healing process!