Roasted Cauliflower & Spinach Salad

This evening while driving home from work I knew I wanted to use that head of cauliflower in the fridge for dinner. After not cooking cauliflower because of some mistaken notion that it would stink up my house for many many years, I've come to really love the flavor, aroma and taste of simple Roasted Cauliflower. Cut up the florets, toss the cauliflower in a gallon bag with a splash of water and whatever spices you like, toss everything together and then spread it all out on a cookie sheet and broil on high for 10-12 minutes. Umm mmm good!! Here's my standard Roasted Cauliflower recipe. 

As I was dreaming of my roasted cauliflower .. I was also dreaming of my box of baby spinach and the awesome batch of homemade hummus I made the other night! I guess I was hungry :)!!! Soon after getting home, I found a recipe I knew I could adapt to my tastes and preferences (umm no oil!), use the ingredients I'd been dreaming about and have it turn out great!! 

Adapted from: Modern Family Cooking

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (Serves 4):

1. 1 head of Cauliflower (any color, about 2 cups of florets)
2. 1 x 15oz Canned Chickpeas, rinsed and 
3. 4 Mini Cucumbers, sliced (about 1 cup)
4. 1 Bell Pepper (any color, preferably Red or Orange), diced
5. 1/2 cup Quinoa, pre-cooked in water and chilled. 
6. 3 cups Baby Spinach
7. 4 tbsp Homemade Hummus* (plain or roasted red pepper) (or more, to taste)
8. 1/2 cup Cold Water
9. 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
10. 3 drops of Liquid Smoke
11. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Whisk hummus, liquid smoke and 1/2 cup of iced water in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside. Transfer drained and rinsed chickpeas and cauliflower (cut into small bite-sized florets) into a gallon zip lock bag with nutritional yeast, freshly cracked black pepper and about a third of the thinned out hummus. Close bag and toss everything together until the cauliflower and chickpeas are well coated with the hummus. Transfer to a rimmed cookie sheet and broil on high for 10-12 minutes until the tips of the cauliflower start to caramelize and char. Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix diced pepper, baby spinach. sliced cucumbers and quinoa and toss well with hands. Sprinkle liberally with freshly cracked black pepper. Once the cauliflower and chickpeas are ready, remove from oven and set aside for just a minute. Add remaining thinned out hummus to the bowl with greens and quinoa and toss well, top off with roasted veggies, toss and serve immediately. This salad makes 4 side-salad sized servings, or 2 large dinner-sized salad servings! Enjoy!

My Assessment: Tony wants me to make this for our Friendsgiving dinner which we celebrate a weekend after Thanksgiving every year. I guess in my head, hearing that from a self-proclaimed hummus-hater, this recipe is a hit!!! :)

Home-made Hummus*: Blend one can of chickpeas (rinsed & drained) with 1/2 to 2/3 cup water, 2 cloves of garlic, 1-2 tbsp Tahini (sesame seed butter, optional) and 2-3 tbsp lemon juice until smooth. Add more water, as needed to make a smooth paste. Store refrigerated for up to a week. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 205 (Fat Calories 26)

Total Fat 2.9 g; Carbohydrates 37.0 g; Fiber 8.8 g; Sugars 4.0 g; Protein 12.4 g


If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!

Gimme More ... Chickpea Salad!

This recipe is definitely a Coder favorite. Our favorite Indian restaurant in Columbus used to have something along these lines as part of their Sunday Buffet. This is a recipe my mom and I devised - it is simple, nutritious, has no added fat and is perfect for a summer afternoon.  Tony asks for this salad on a fairly routine basis and we always keep a few cans of chickpeas on hand for this super-healthy super-quick snack - definitely a gimme more recipe!! 

Gimme more ... Chickpea Salad

Prep Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

1. 2 14-oz cans of Chickpeas, drained, rinsed
2. 1 large Cucumber
3. 1 medium Red Onion
4. 1 large Tomato
5. 12-16 fresh mint leaves
6. 2 tbsp MDH Chunky Chaat Masala, to taste (optional)*
7. 1-2 tsp Amchoor powder (dried young mango powder) or Lemon/Lime juice
8. Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Thinly slice onion, cucumber and tomato and set aside. I use a 'mandolin'-type slicer and it works great. In a deep pot, bring 3-4 cups of tap water to a boil. As the water is heating up, prepare another bowl with ice water (more ice, less water). Once the water is at a rolling boil, add rinsed canned chickpeas, boil for 2 min and then blanch immediately by draining and transferring to the ice water. Let the chickpeas cool and meanwhile mince the mint leaves as well. Add spices and mint to the sliced veggies and toss everything together. Drain and add chickpeas and give another good toss. Do a quick taste test, add more condiments, as needed and enjoy!! 

This is a great summer salad for picnics, barbeques and even July 4th outings!! It never lasts in our house, no matter how much I make. Scale recipe up as needed. :)

* if you don't have Chaat masala, use a sprinkling of roasted cumin powder, salt, pepper, paprika and lime juice for a similar flavor. If you have dried pomegranate seed powder .. that makes an excellent addition too.

Mung Bean Sprout Chaat

Growing up in India, our diet was primarily vegetarian, with the occasional indulgence in meat. Our diet however, was never lacking in protein. Everyone that eats a plant-based vegetarian diet gets asked that question "... but where do you get your protein?" - the answer is quite simple: Vegetables, Leafy Greens, Grains, Lentils, Beans ... all have wonderful amounts of protein. And we don't need to eat 600% of the RDA of protein like most people on a Standard Western Omnivorous diet. 

One of my uncles (Bade Dad), was very conscientious and made sure all of us kids ate a healthy diet. He was a wonderful cook and was often found in the kitchen futzing around with various recipes. One of the things he often did was soaked lentils or beans so that my aunt and mom knew what to cook for the next meal. He often also had them make mung bean sprouts. We typically ate this dish for a snack or even for breakfast. It has no added fat and is full of nutrition - protein, minerals, vitamins and even Iodine from the red onion ... all that fun stuff!!

Prep Time: 2 days for sprouting the beans; 10 min of actual dish prep time.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup Mung Beans
2. 1 medium Cucumber, Seedless, diced
3. 1 medium Red Onion, diced
4. 2-3 tbsp minced, mixed, fresh herbs
5. 1 lemon/lime (juice of).
6. 1-2 tsp Chunky Chaat Masala, to taste (optional).
7. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

The first step of this recipe requires some patience. Rinse mung beans and transfer to a large bowl. Soak overnight in ample amounts of water:

Time = 0 hours

The next morning, the beans should look nice and plump:

Time = 12 hours

Fill the bowl with tap water and rinse the beans again. The plump beans should rise to the top and any that did not absorb water will sink to the bottom (discard those).

Line the bottom of a colander with a folded paper towel or cheese cloth. transfer the beans and allow the excess water to drain out the bottom:

Soak another large piece folder paper towel, or cheese cloth with tap water and cover the beans completely. Place the colander in the same bowl, and cover the whole set up with saran-wrap or aluminum foil. This will prevent the beans from drying out. Leave the bowl on the kitchen counter. 

Time = 24 hours

After another 12 hours, remove the top cover, run a gentle stream of tap water over the beans. By this time most beans should have a small seedling (2-3 mm). Once the water drains out, replace the wet cover and saran wrap. 

Time = 36 hours

After another 12 hours, repeat the steps above. Most beans at this stage should have a 8-10 mm sprout. 

Time = 48 hours

On the second day, the sprouts should be close to 15mm long and that is when we typically stopped growing them further. After sitting for 2 days at room temperature, despite repeated washes in between, there is a chance for fungus etc. so I didn't want to risk it anymore. A lot of oriental dishes have sprouts that are far longer. I soaked the beans at this stage in a fresh bowl with a lot of tap water, and picked up the floating sprouts and transferred them to a fresh colander. Once well drained, I kept them overnight in the fridge. 

This evening, I transferred the sprouts to a pressure cooker and steamed them for less than 2 minutes. Bring 1/2 cup water to boil, add the sprouts and close the lid. Start the timer and as soon as 2 minutes is up, whether or not full pressure has been achieved, take the cooker off the stove and release the steam and drain immediately (mine were a little over-done today!). 

Meanwhile, dice onions and cucumbers:

And then in a large bowl, toss everything together. For fresh herbs, I used basil, cilantro, mint, oregano, thyme and spearmint, all chopped finely. I used Chunky Chaat Masala in my recipe, but if you don't have it, this is equally as enjoyable with just salt, pepper, and lemon/lime juice. 

Another way is prepare this dish is to wilt the onions in a skillet, with just a little bit of water, and then add the sprouts, and spices. Toss everything together for a couple of minutes, remove from heat, transfer to a large bowl and toss in fresh diced cucumber (and even tomatoes). Enjoy!!!

My Assessment: This is comfort food for me ... miss you Bade dad!