Cauliflower Croutons

“Cauliflower Crouton Salad”

 

So today was the last day of my week.  That means when I opened my fridge there wasn’t much left.  (My weekly grocery shopping trip will be tomorrow).  So here’s what I saw: spinach, half a red onion, some eggs, avocado, and half a cauliflower head.  Bleck. Not much.  What’s a girl to do for lunch?  I considered a boring spinach, onion, and avocado salad.   However, it did not seem appealing to me at all and I pictured myself eating a whole chocolate bar after eating said salad because I was already unsatisfied before I even started plating.  Okay…so what could I make for lunch that would be appealing and use the avocado before it went bad?…hmmm?  I knew I wanted to save the eggs for dinner, so I kept pondering.  Aha!  Eureka!  I had it.  I’ll make the cauliflower into crunchy croutons and it’ll spice up my usual salad routine enough that I will not be disappointed with my meal and not be searching for satisfaction after I eat lunch.  It was worth a shot.  And I was off…  Verdict? It worked!  And it’s so easy to do.  I can’t wait to share it with you.

Ingredients (as if you didn’t know 🙂 )

½ head Cauliflower, cut into tiny florets

Boiling Water

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Herbs de Provence

Baby Spinach

Red Onion

1 Ripe Avocado (pitted, skin removed and diced)

Lemon

1 TBSPN Coconut Oil

 Directions:

First, I put water into a tea kettle and put it on the stove to boil.

As it boils, I chop up the cauliflower into teeny tiny floret-lets (remember they will be your croutons) and throw into a sauté pan on high heat.

The water should be boiled by this point and toss a splash of it into the cauliflower pan. (You can use the rest of the hot water for a cup of tea post meal).

I let the cauliflower sit in the hot water until it all evaporates.  (This cooks the cauliflower by steaming it as the water evaporates).  Stir occasionally. This only takes a few minutes.

While I wait for all the water to evaporate I take my baby spinach and throw it in a bowl.

To this bowl, I add the *red onion and the avocado.

I top the salad with lemon, salt, and garlic powder to taste and toss.

Now that the cauliflower is cooked and the water is gone from the pan, I add the coconut oil to the pan as well as salt, pepper, garlic powder, and herbs de provence to taste.

Cook this mixture until it is nicely browned.  Voila!  It’s done.  All you have to do is pour the cooked “cauli-croutons” onto the salad and toss to combine.

*The way I cut the red onion: I cut (2) ¼ inch thick round slices from one end. Then I dice the two rounds. (It’s how my mom taught me ;))

Let me know what you think!