Cauliflower Tabbouleh
MAKES 6 SERVINGS • PREP TIME: 15 minutes • COOK TIME: 20 minutes
Some foods just look like they should be good for the mind. Take cauliflower. Kind of like walnuts, it visually reminds you of the brain. And sure enough, cauliflower is a brain-boosting superstar, filled with B vitamins, omega-3s, phosphorus, and manganese. It helps in liver detoxification, and a happy liver—the body’s vacuum cleaner for toxic metals—makes for a happy brain. Working with cauliflower can intimidate people—it’s big and unwieldy—but it need not. In this tabbouleh, it goes incognito as what looks like rice or couscous, surrounded by spices, fresh green herbs, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes. It’s a great dish for people who are watching their carbs but who want a grain like taste and texture on which to munch.
1 1/2 pounds cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1-inch florets
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup tightly packed coarsely chopped parsley
1/2 cup coarsely chopped tightly packed mint
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Place the cauliflower florets in a steamer basket and steam until just tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Place the cooked cauliflower in the bowl of a food processor and pulse about 15 times, until the texture is fine, with pieces about the size of rice grains.
In a large bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower and toss well to coat. Taste, and adjust with a couple of pinches of salt if needed. When the cauliflower has completely cooled, fold in the parsley, mint, cucumber, and tomatoes. Serve at room temperature.
Reprinted with permission from The Healthy Mind Cookbook Copyright © 2015 by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.