Recipe Cauliflower Rice Tabbouleh

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This recipe is based on the one in the Vegan Food & Living magazine Jan 2023 which is from Annabelle Randles from the Flexitarian.co.uk.

It is vegan, it's raw hence requires no cooking, it's gluten free and it's very tasty.

We've added to it and altered the quantities slightly because we prefer it with dried apricots. The original just seemed to be missing something and either pomegranate seeds or dried apricots appealed to us. If you're going for a full on raw diet, you'll need to check how your apricots were dried.

How you obtain cauliflower rice is up to you. I prefer to purchase a whole cauliflower and either grate it coarsely by hand or in the food processor. If you buy cauliflower rice, don't get the frozen stuff, I don't think it will work but I do know you can buy it fresh, however you'll get more nutrients from a freshly grated cauliflower head, than from purchased cauliflower rice.

All of the veg (cucumber, (spring) onion, red pepper tomatoes) and the apricots need to be diced to about the same small size. We went with about 5mm cubed.

Finally, don't be shy with the fresh parsley and fresh mint. You want roughly the same quantity of each and they're must be plenty of it, and no, dried will not work.

Ingredients (serves 6 as a main course)

600g grated cauliflower (use the stalks but not the leaves)
300g finely diced cucumber
300g finely diced tomatoes
300g finely diced dried apricots
1 large red pepper (orange or yellow will also work)
1 red onion, finely diced or 1 bunch of soring onions, finely sliced, including the greens.
2 bunches finely chopped parsley
2 bunches finely chopped mint
4-8tbsp lemon or lime juice
3-6tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp mustard powder or ready made mustard such as Dijon (not wholegrain)
2-3 decent sized cloves of garlic crushed
Seasoning to taste

Method

1. Mix the cauliflower rice, cucumber, tomatoes, dried apricots, red pepper and (spring) onions in a large mixing bowl.
2. Finely chop the fresh herbs and add to the bowl. Mix well. It should turn the dish noticeably greener.
3. Mix up the lemon/lime juice with the olive oil (4:3 ratio or 3:2), add the crushed garlic and the mustard, and mix well.
4. Be liberal with the dressing poured over veg, mix very well, season if needed (we don't) and serve.

It does benefit from being left overnight in the fridge. One point to note from a nutrition point is view is that this is very low in protein (2-3g per portion), so you'll need to serve protein with the dish. You could add 2 tins of chickpeas, or serve it with baked tofu or tempeh etc.