pickled vegetables salad

Salad is probably the last thing you truly want to have in the middle of the winter, but this Pickled Vegetables Salad features roasted home-pickled cauliflower, so there is a warming element to the meal.

I originally served this with Smoky Seitan, but when I cut the Prep Ahead Week 3 menu from 7 to 5 days, I also cut the seitan. I think the salad is just great with or without it, so I am including it here, just in case you'd like to make it with seitan, too.

The salad doesn't just have roasted pickled cauliflower, it also features quinoa, greens and a bean salad filled with celery, olives, roasted bell peppers, and cannellini beans. The dressing for the bean salad can be made with yogurt or with oil.

Serve this salad as is, or toast some slices of French bread and rub them with a large clove of garlic. If nothing else, this is a very unique salad to enjoy in the middle of winter.

Pickled Vegetables Salad

Makes 4 servings

Cauliflower Ingredients:

1/2 cup vinegar, white wine or other

3 cups water

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh oregano

2 teaspoons salt

2 pounds cauliflower

1 cup chopped seitan (optional)

Bean Salad Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sliced celery

1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced

1 cup green olives, chopped

1/4 cups olive oil or unsweetened plain nondairy yogurt

2 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can cooked cannellini beans 

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well

2 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped

1. For the cauliflower: Combine the vinegar, water, bay leaf, sprigs of oregano, and salt  in a medium pot. Bring to boil. Break the cauliflower into florets. Add to the pot. Cook, covered, low  

until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Remove 1/4 cup of brine to cool and set aside. Drain the cauliflower. Add the cauliflower to a baking sheet. Add the chopped saiten. Broil until golden, about 10 minutes. Spray with oil, if desired. Remove and discard the bay leaf and oregano stalks.

2. For the bean salad: Add the celery to a medium bowl. Add the red peppers, the olives, the olive oil or yogurt, the reserved brine and the beans. Mix and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. For the quinoa: Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa, cover, reduce to simmer and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside (still covered) for 10 minutes. 

4. Serve the salad: place romaine lettuce in a bowl, top with quinoa, top with bean salad and finally with the roasted cauliflower.

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