Cauliflower Couscous Salad

Northern Michigan Recipes: The Intentional Minimalist blogger Kristin Celeste Shroeger never disappoints with her wholesome and downright delicious meals! This minimalist farm-to-table recipe is created with local fresh produce paired with homemade infused oils, dressings, marinades, pestos and sauces. By eating seasonally, we reap the benefits of good health through nutrition from fresh, unprocessed and sustainable produce.

Look for more of Kristin's fresh and tasty recipes on her blog The Intentional Minimalist!

Still hungry? Find more Northern Michigan recipes on mynorth.com!

Ingredients

This recipe features local produce from 9 Bean Rows Farm,  Second Spring Farm , Birch Point Farm and locally produced products from Food for Thought.
  • Farm fresh local cauliflower Farm fresh local asparagus
  • Farm fresh local garlic scapes
  • Farm fresh local fava beans
  • Farm fresh local thyme
  • Wild leek infused olive oil (recipe link)
  • Champagne vinegar
  • Local cherry honey mustard
  • Sea salt
  • Pepper

Directions

Remove cauliflower leaves from stem and reserve. Slice cauliflower florets from stems. Mince two cups cauliflower florets into "couscous" and reserve. Slice one cup asparagus into one half inch pieces and reserve. Mince two tablespoons garlic scapes and reserve. Remove stems and flowers from one half tablespoon thyme, reserve. Chiffonade two cups cauliflower leaves and place in a large glass mixing bowl. In a glass jar, mix three tablespoons wild leek oil, two tablespoons champagne vinegar, one half tablespoon  cherry honey mustard  with one eighth teaspoon salt and one eighth teaspoon pepper. Pour half of the dressing onto the cauliflower leaves, stir well and let rest for ten minutes. Shell fava beans yielding one cup beans. Place a steamer basket in a medium metal sauce pan with water that reaches just under the steamer basket. Cover pan and bring water to a boil, reduce heat to medium, place fava beans in steamer basket, cover pan and steam fava beans for two minutes. Remove steamer basket from pan, allow fava beans to cool for a few minutes in the steamer basket. Slice tips off of fava beans and squeeze out bright green fava bean from outer coating. Rinse out sauce pan, add one teaspoon wild leek oil and warm pan on medium heat with asparagus and fava beans. Cover and cook for three minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in cauliflower couscous, garlic scapes, remaining dressing, cover and let rest for two minutes. Remove lid from pan and gently stir in thyme. Plate one cup cauliflower leaves with one and a half cups vegetables.