walnut oil Archives - Spinach Tiger

Purple Cauliflower Salad Recipe with Walnut Vinaigrette

Angela Roberts — Fri, 12 May 2017 14:22:26 +0000

If you can get your hands on green and or purple cauliflower, you must make this purple cauliflower salad recipe. This is the salad that will keep you from snacking on junk food and feed your body well.

I made this same exact salad here with plain white cauliflower and while it was oh so good, nothing looks as good as color.

How does cauliflower get green or purple you ask.

Green cauliflower is a hybrid of cauliflower and broccoli. Purple cauliflower gets its color naturally and it’s origin is placed in Italy or South Africa. Purple cauliflower’s color is due to the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanin, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine. Purple cauliflower also goes by the variety names Sicilian Violet, Violet Queen and Grafitti cauliflower.

This Green and Purple Cauliflower Salad Recipe is perfect for a large outdoor gathering.

I put the two colors together for a recent Easter dinner at the farm. The color alone made me happy. You can play around with various vinaigrettes, but just be sure to add more vinegar than you usually would. Like this kale salad, cauliflower stays firm and needs a very acidic dressing. Otherwise it will be bland and boring. You should also make this ahead of time because the longer it marinates several hours (up to overnight) the better it will taste. Just add your nuts in at the last minute.

In this purple cauliflower salad recipe, I used sunflower seeds. Almost any nut will work. Make sure to toast them first.

This is a fantastic choice for a potluck, a shower, a party, as it is best eaten at room temperature and stays delicious for hours.

When I think about purple cauliflower, I think about parties, because it’s so festive. Take this to your next party. People will thank you.

You can see more on this salad here, where I made it with white cauliflower, pistachios and a champagne vinaigrette.

Here is the video of the original white cauliflower salad, which will help give you an idea as to how to cut it. I used walnut oil in this one to change up the flavors.

Walnut Vinaigrette adds something special this Purple Cauliflower Salad Recipe

Twenty More Amazing Cauliflower Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Salad Recipes Here

Purple Cauliflower Salad Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Servings

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

1 head purple cauliflower
1 head green cauliflower
1 cup chopped sunflower seeds or chopped toasted walnuts
2/3 cup golden raisins can use dried cranberries
4 bunches of scallions
1 cup walnut vinaigrette see recipe below
sea salt
pepper
red pepper flakes as needed
!Walnut Vinaigrette or Champagne Vinaigrette found here
2 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoon dijon mustard
6 tablespoons walnut vinegar can use white vinegar or champagne vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons walnut oil
2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

Cut out the bottom core of cauliflower. Discard
Slice cauliflower as thin as you can. Mandolin is best, but you can slice with good sharp knife.
Toss with vinaigrette.You will want the vinegar to be pronounced. I found that the cauliflower doesn't hold the vinegar taste.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add in chile flakes.
Add golden raisins, chopped scallions, nuts, (reserve some nuts for garnish).
!Vinaigrette Instructions
Infuse olive oil with chopped garlic for 20 minutes.
Put mustard in a jar and mix well with vinegar.
Slowly add olive oil. Mix well.
Add red pepper flakes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add nuts right before serving.

Notes

This is a recipe using two heads of cauliflower, making a lot of salad for a party.
You can cut this recipe in half. You can see what that looks like at this recipe.

The post Purple Cauliflower Salad Recipe with Walnut Vinaigrette appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Kale Winter Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette

Angela Roberts — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 03:41:24 +0000

Hale Kale the Gang’s All Here. The gang of 5,222, 000 recipes for kale salad that is, four of which are mine.

Why should I bring you another one?

Answer 1: I understand kale, and kale must be understood to taste good.

Kale salads can go very very wrong. I’ve had plenty of $9 bad kale salads in upscale restaurants. I know what it takes to make them go right. Kale needs dressed up to taste balanced so I almost always bring in fruit and nuts.

This kale salad helps with winter blues because it has ingredients that are especially good for your brain like blueberries and walnuts.

Blueberries contain anthocyanins, and are considered a super fruit for the brain, which you can read about in this article.

Pomegranates are only super healthy as everyone knows by now, (if not, read this), and they give a nice sweet, juicy crunch and add brightness which helps to balance the fat and the fibrous texture of the kale.

Shredded brussels sprouts, another super food with very similar benefits as kale, adds a burst of light green, and make up about 20 percent of the salad, but you could go as high as 50% or even more and make this same salad.

Walnut oil is high in Omega 3 Fatty Acid and makes a wonderful wintery vinaigrette.

Answer 2: The nutritional value of kale is nearly epic in the greens business.

There are many vitamins and nutrients in kale, but the overwhelming vitamins are A, C, K as each cup is 34 calorie cup is over 100% of the RDA.

Thus, kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods in the world.

Nutritional Value of Kale

Each cup has 34 calories, 6 grams of carbs with a high fiber content.

Why I am So Crazy to Insist You Eat Kale

The list for the health benefits of kale is growing including it’s fight against several cancers, especially the very deadly colon cancer.

I am not a doctor, nor am I a nutritionist, but I have common sense and food plays a major role here in the prevention of cancer due to organosulfur compounds known as glucosinolates. This is just as much over my head as maybe it is to you, but it’s important to me to control what I can with what I choose to eat.

I have lost two best friends to colon cancer (both members of my wedding party) and the husband of a good friend is back in surgery today. If you’re a praying person, his name is Jeff.

This is serious business, but my wish is to make healthy eating a joy.

I like kale for a few other reasons.

It’s one of the better make ahead salads. In fact, you can put your dressing on in the morning and take it to work for lunch. This salad is best made ahead, because the vinaigrette helps to break down the fibers in the kale.

It’s great for weight loss without starvation. Your body knows kale is nutrient dense and high in fiber, thus, even on a lower calorie regimen, you are getting your nutrition.

This salad is particularly good for your brain and your focus, as blueberries and walnuts are particularly good power foods.

I promise you that this is a good salad, good enough for every day, for specials days and that it will disappear.

It can be fortified with extra protein by adding red quinoa as I did here, or salmon as I did here or here.

There are two main types of kale. I prefer the lacinato kale, also known as Tuscan kale or dinosaur kale, but I will eat the curly kale when I pick it myself at my friend’s farm.