We live on a crazy, beautiful little planet and this salad is proof. Did you know that dopamine levels rise in the brain when we try new foods? It’s a way for our body to motivate us to try new things so we get a variety of vitamins and nutrients. Pretty cool, huh? My dopamine levels must spike pretty high because I love trying new things. Up until this point I had never tried black garlic and now I’m in love with it. It’s sweet and syrupy and loaded with antioxidants. Yum. I just blended the garlic with a bit of balsamic vinegar to make this simple but super flavorful dressing. So get your dopamine buzz on this weekend and make this psychedelic dish!
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Step 1
To make the dressing, just blend garlic and balsamic vinegar together with a pinch of salt in your food processor or blender.
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Step 2
Wash and dry cauliflower. Cut into smaller pieces so they fit in your food processor (making sure they are all about the same size). Pulse a few times until you get a couscous-like consistency.
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Step 3
Cut the onion or shallot into thin slivers and sauté on low heat in a bit of olive oil until tender and fragrant.
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Step 4
Add the cauliflower couscous to the onions. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Then plate with the rest of the ingredients.
Ingredients for Cauliflower Couscous
1 head of cauliflower
1 orange
1/4th of a red onion or 2 shallots
1/4 cup pistachios
about 6 dried black figs
a bit of olive oil
salt and pepper
Ingredients for Black Garlic Dressing
3 cloves black garlic
6 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
Directions
Wash and dry cauliflower. Cut into smaller pieces so they fit in your food processor (making sure they are all about the same size). Pulse a few times until you get a couscous-like consistency. Cut the onion or shallot into thin slivers and sauté on low heat in a bit of olive oil until tender and fragrant. Add the cauliflower couscous to the onions. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Then assemble the dish with the rest of the ingredients. To make the dressing: just blend garlic and balsamic vinegar together with a pinch of salt in your food processor or blender.
Notes
If you don’t have black garlic you can use roasted garlic. It has a sweet and mellow flavor similar to that of black garlic. Just toast whole garlic cloves in olive oil on low heat until light brown and fragrant. Like I did here in step 2.