Cauliflower Salad

Oh MY. I don't know if I have it in me right now to do an entire blog post about salads in Israel, because it is an enormous topic. Salads are everywhere. No meal (especially breakfast!) in Israel is complete without the ubiquitous chopped salad of, in it's purest form, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions with lemon juice and olive oil. Falafel, shnitzel and shawarma (three of Israel's most popular street foods) are usually served in fluffy pita with hummus, and the consumer can choose from dozens of little salads to stuff in their sandwich. 

Cabbage salads, fried eggplant, pickled vegetables...the possibilities are endless and really vary from place to place. But let it be said. I've collectively spent nearly a year in Israel and can think of one meal that didn't include salads. (At a wonderful French restaurant in Tel Aviv) 

Both kibbutzim where I volunteered served a variety of salads for every meal. This cauliflower salad was served quite often with dinner on my more recent kibbutz, and it was one of my favorites. It is as simple as can be and tastes incredible. We always ate it as a cold salad, but I'm sure it would be lovely warm as well.

Working in the kitchen...probably about 6:30 am...not looking great

 I worked in the kitchen and on days where we made the salad, I often was the one to prep all the cauliflower. In those days, I was like a cauliflower prepping machine! I would have to separate a dozen or so crates of cauliflower into little florets, drop them into a large tub of cold water, cling film the top, and wheel it into one of the large walk-in fridges so our chefs could use it later in the day. When I did cauliflower, I always hoped it would be for this salad. It's so good! 

Cauliflower Salad

Okay, as I sit here chowing down on this salad, I implore you; if you make any of my recipes, make this one!! It was fun to revisit. And I really enjoyed the confused/slightly judgemental look on my cat's little face as I broke down the stalk of the cauliflower and pushed it down the garbage disposal.... Animals must think humans are so weird.

Also, a few notes....

The photo above will look slightly different from your final product, since I added the tahina after photographing and uploading it, just because I am absent minded and honestly couldn't be bothered to set up the camera and take a billion pictures of the cauliflower and then upload them all and choose the best one...I just couldn't do it again.  I'm sorry.

Don't be afraid of parsley! In Israel, it is used as an ingredient, not a garnish. It really stands out in this dish.

On my kibbutz, the cauliflower was put in a deep fryer. If you randomly have one, go ahead and fry them there! In that case, you don't need to slice them in half. 
Finally, I gave sort of loosey goosey instructions on making the tahina, because it's really to taste. Also, you won't use it all. Just spoon it on and make sure the tahina coats the cauliflower. Any leftovers can be used as salad dressing, eaten with pita, over meat...really anything. It's delicious.

Ingredients

One head of cauliflower, separated into florets and sliced in half  

Oil

1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Tahini paste

A handful of parsley, chopped

Water

Preparation

In a large pan, pour enough oil so that half your cauliflower will be covered. Heat the oil and then add half the cauliflower. Fry until it's soft, brown and the stems are translucent. Drain on a paper towel and add the other half. Do the same thing. 

Season the fried cauliflower with a little salt, pepper, and some lemon juice. Mix in some of the chopped parsley. Let it cool.

To make a tahini sauce: pour tahini into a food processor and squeeze over half a lemon, some parsley, and your garlic. Pulse and add water until it becomes a thick yet loose, khaki-colored sauce. 

Mix some tahini with the cauliflower and  squeeze over the rest of your lemon. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, but you won't need much. 

!בתאבון

Welcome to my BLOG!

 I'm Gabby, and this is my blog. 

I decided to write a food and travel blog because they are my biggest passions. I recently returned from about 13 months overseas (mostly in Europe and Israel) where I did everything I could to be around food. I volunteered on farms, in kitchens, and homestays where the lifestyle was often based around cooking and food production. I also ate every single thing that interested me and wasn't ridiculously expensive. 

I made a lot of amazing friends from lots of countries during my travels, and I made sure to "interview" all of them about their favorite foods and cultural dishes. I learned a lot! 

Now it's time for it to all come together. Hence, this blog. I intend to recreate things I tried, learn to make things I heard about from my friends, cook recipes I collected while overseas, and of course, try new things and be creative in my kitchen!

I hope I can make lots of interesting and delicious recipes for other people like me, who love to see the world through their tastebuds!

That said, let's get started! Incidentally, this recipe has nothing to do with the places I've traveled. I just love making this soup. I made it up, sort of by accident a few years back and it's perfect for a cold day when you can't really be bothered to go shopping (such as  it was yesterday here in Boston). It can easily be made with canned black beans, and dried chile powder can be used instead of the fresh.  I always keep overripe bananas in my freezer, so that helps too! (In this case, the more ripe the banana, the better the final product)

                                                             Black Bean Banana Soup

Ingredients

*1 tablespoon oil (I used a blend of peanut and grapeseed for this particular recipe, but go for what you have on hand)

*2 carrots, diced

*2 onions, diced

*2 cloves garlic, minced 

*2 ribs of celery, diced

*1 chile pepper, diced (use more if you want it more spicy and less if you want it less! No two chiles are the same, I always take a little taste before throwing it on the stove)

*3 bananas, diced

*30 oz. cooked black beans, rinsed

*1 litre vegetable stock or broth
*A few avocado chunks, to garnish
*Lime wedges, to serve

Preparation

In a large pot, heat oil. Add carrots, onion, garlic and celery. Let them sweat out for a bit, stirring occasionally, so they become aromatic and soft, but not brown. Add your desired amount of chile pepper and let that soften up for a bit. 

Once everything is soft, add the bananas! Give it a stir occasionally, but you don't need to stand over it. After a few minutes, it will smell amazing and you will know the bananas are heated through. That's when you can add the black beans. Stir it all to incorporate, and then add half of the vegetable broth. 

Use a hand mixer to blend it all together (or use a blender in batches), and let it thicken a little bit.  Add the rest of the broth. 

Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over, and avocado chunks on top. (I love avocado with anything remotely spicy....) 

(PS: As an afterthought, I also grated some manchego cheese on top of it, and I imagine queso fresco would go nicely as well...)

Enjoy!