This Cauliflower Salad with all its Italian flare is a great summer staple and will feed a crowd.
Fresh from the market ingredients liven this salad up but the ingredients are readily available year round.
Try to chop the cauliflower and carrots evenly and not too big. There is a bit of a tendency with cauliflower to separate it along the shape of the florets and then you end up with kind of big clunky bites. Don't be afraid to slice through the larger florets!
It is sturdy - keeps well in the fridge, sticks to your ribs, is low calorie and travels well. Quite a list of qualities! I like to make a batch and just have around for the week as a side salad to our meal. It is also a great choice for a potluck!
Cauliflower Salad With Creamy Italian Dressing
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 medium cauliflower
- 3 medium carrots
- ½ sweet onion chopped
- 3 Tbsps sundried tomatoes chopped
- 3 Tbsps sliced green olives
- ¼ cup red or green pepper chopped
- 3 Tbsps pepperoncini or hot pickled peppers, chopped
- 6 slices prosciutto optional but recommended
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped basil optional
Dressing
- 1/12 cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 ½ tablespoon grated Parmesan
- juice of ¼ fresh lemon
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
Dressing
- Mix all dressing ingredient and shake well to blend. Set aside until ready to use.
Salad
- Rinse cauliflower and remove core. Chop florets into small pieces.
- Peel carrots and cut into ¼ inch coins. Halve or quarter the coins depending on size. You want carrot pieces about the same size as the cauliflower.
- Steam cauliflower and carrots 9-12 minutes until tender crisp. Check at 9 minutes. Do not overcook.
- Allow cauliflower and carrots to cool slightly. While still a bit warm pour half the dressing over them and toss to coat.
- Microwave the prosciutto slices for a 4-5 minutes on high till it is crispy. Check progress after a few minutes so you don't burn it. Crumble when it is cool enough to handle.
- Add all the other salad ingredients in a large bowl. Reserve the remaining salad dressing to pour over after salad is completely cool.
- Salad keeps well in the fridge for several days.
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