Loaded Baked-Mock-Potato Salad

 

Perfect for picnics – low in carbs, too!

Nearly every picnic around has someone bringing a great heaping bowl of potato salad. In my circle, the one whose taters are most popular has recently been put on a severely carb-restricted plan, making that just a little awkward.

Naturally, I wanted to come up with an alternative that we can both enjoy when everybody else feasts upon those spuds. And, to my surprise, I learned that cauliflower can be a very nice substitute.

The surprise came because, for years, the cooked cauliflower I'd been subjected to was…well… sort of skunky and cabbage-y. But with the judicious use of a hot oven, some cooking oil, and a little salt, the veggie sweetens up in a way that stir-frying and steaming won't.

As for this salad, it can be served hot or cold, so adapts to suit your mood or menu. Either way, I recommend making it in advance, and letting it sit in the refrigerator for several hours (overnight is ideal), so the flavors meld. It also doesn't require much in the way of clean-up… all you'll need is a baking sheet, some non-stick parchment, and a preferred method for spreading oil on the surface of the veggies for early preparation work, and then a large mixing and/or serving bowl, plus measuring cups/spoons, and a spatula or spoon to mix it all up.

Loaded Baked-Mock-Potato Salad

Ingredients:

1 large head of cauliflower, cut & broken up into bite-size pieces
About 3 Tablespoons of your favorite cooking oil* (just enough to coat the cauliflower bits)
Salt to taste (I use about 1/2 teaspoon)

1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup good mayonnaise (I use Duke's)
1/3 cup coarsely-shredded or small-cubed medium cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
1/4 cup diced celery
about 3 Tablespoons diced bread-and-butter pickles
1/3 cup crisp-cooked bacon bits, divided
chopped chives or more scallion greens for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º F.

Cover large baking sheet with non-stick parchment (or, if you don't have parchment, lightly grease your baking sheet).

Clean and cut/pull apart cauliflower, putting the florets into a large mixing bowl or gallon zipper bag.
 

Pour cooking oil over the florets, stir/shake until all the pieces are coated, and then spread the pieces over the parchment-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt, and bake for about 20 – 25 minutes, turning at least once for even cooking. The aim is to get them golden-brown and their edges slightly crisped.

Remove from oven, allow to cool enough to work with (I then pop it into the refrigerator for an hour or two. The choice is yours, though).

In large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, scallions, celery, and diced pickle. Stir thoroughly.

Add 1/4 cup bacon bits, roasted cauliflower, and dressing mix. Stir until dressing evenly covers all the cauliflower pieces. 

Almost forgot the bacon.

Store covered in refrigerator for several hours to overnight. 

Fancy-shmancy containers like mine
need to be carefully cleaned before use,
though.

May be heated in oven or microwave, if your preference is for warm salad.

Sprinkle remaining bacon on top of salad immediately before serving, for garnish and extra crunch. Chopped fresh chives or scallion greens may also be added before serving, for garnish and flavor. (I skipped them during the photo sessions, because I was making this for family, and The Bat is not a fan of either flavor.)

*I leave the choice up to you. Others like working with avocado oil, or even melted ghee. I'm kind of a weirdo. I like the flavor and finish of corn oil.

Cauliflower and the Slaw of Intended Consequences

Some years ago, I was introduced to this side dish at an auction house's concession stand, to go alongside their Untidy Josephs 😉. The original chef grated the cauliflower by hand to a fine "rice" (in this day and age, I suppose you can even find a fresh, bagged version in the same section as the shopped cabbage slaw mix), but I prefer to use the Kitchen Aid slicer, for a prettier, more varied texture.

Any way you work it, though, it's a fairly simple and adaptive slaw.

Simple, Zesty Cauliflower Slaw

Ingredients:
4 cups cauliflower, grated or shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
Hot paprika for garnish

Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise and hot sauce.
Stir into cauliflower, mix thoroughly.
Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.
Serve chilled.

Makes 6-8 servings

This slaw suits nicely any cookout meals, in case you need ideas for the hot summer weekends. Bonus: it's low-carb, low-guilt. 

Enjoy!

The Slaw Lane

Just about everybody has a version of slaw handed down from Grandma or stolen from a favorite eatery. It's an unwritten (s)law. 

Personally, I like working variations on a theme. There are the standards (simple shredded cabbage and dressing) and the fancified (mixed cabbages, finely grated fruits, nuts, wine dressings, and airs to put on), and everything in between.

Today, I opted for the "trendy" member of the cabbage family. Cauliflower. It's not because the fashion this year is all things cauliflower. We've been eating the stuff for years. 

It's because...well, just because. I like it. It's tasty, the salad is simple, and that's all.

You can buy cauliflower "rice" -- the pre-grated stuff --  if you're lazy. You can grate it by hand, if you must. Personally, I like putting a fine slicer blade into the Kitchen-Aid attachment (any food processor's fine slicer will do), so as to make pretty bites. 

And, once you have the shredded vegetable matter, the rest is simple.

Zesty Cauliflower Slaw

Ingredients:

1 small head cauliflower, sliced or grated (about 4-5 cups sliced, 3 cups "rice" style)

2/3 cup mayonnaise (I like Hellmann's/Best with Olive Oil, or – even better – homemade)

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2-8 drops Tabasco sauce, to taste

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, and hot sauce to make dressing (you will want to use slightly less hot sauce than you think you'll need, because the cauliflower does amplify the heat of the sauce). Stir until completely mixed. 

In a medium bowl, stir the dresing into the cauliflower until evenly distributed. If you need to extend the dressing, sprinkle vinegar lightly and stir until every bit of the cauliflower is coated. 

Cover. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

It's that simple.