Hey friends! The end of summer has been a little crazy here at With Two Spoons so we are taking the week off from our kitchens and revisiting some of our favorite recipes of days past. I’ve been loving this Curried Cauliflower Quinoa Salad for easy, portable lunches these days. If you haven’t tried it before, read on and give it a try the next time you’re in the mood for a great, flavor packed lunch or side dish.
(Originally posted April 2017)
I’ve always been a voracious reader (and eater, truth be told) and when e-readers first came out, I swore up and down that nothing – nothing! – would ever replace a physical book in my mind. I loved the feel of them in my hand, the smell of the paper, and seeing them stacked up on my bookshelves. Well, fast forward a few short years later and my kindle is one of my very favorite things. I love having so many books at my fingertips and not having to carry so many heavy books when I travel. The one thing it hasn’t replaced? My cookbooks. I will confess that I probably have a bit of a cookbook addiction. I love them. I read them like novels, pouring over the beautiful photos and stuffing bits of colorful post-it notes onto the pages of recipes I want to try. Growing up, my grandmother had the most impressive collection of cookbooks I’ve ever seen and I’m fairly certain my love of cookbooks comes straight from her. Some of the best books her in collection? Small town church cookbooks. Those little gems are filled with home cooking treasures and I love to read them for inspiration from fellow home cooks. This week’s recipe for Curried Cauliflower Quinoa Salad was inspired by a recipe for curried cauliflower I found in just such a cookbook.
This recipe is an simple, flavorful salad that can be served warm or cold and easily assembled ahead of time for parties or make and go lunches. The salad starts with a basic quinoa prepared with chicken broth. We used tricolor to give the dish texture and variation in color tones but you can use whatever you have on hand. A head of cauliflower is, coarsely chopped into florets and then coated in melted coconut oil and then tossed with curry powder, garlic, and salt. It is roasted in the oven until the edges are just crispy, usually about 25 minutes. While the curry is roasting, you will whip up a simple little vinaigrette with shallot and toast some pine nuts. Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and sprinkle in some golden raisins and you’re done! Curried Cauliflower Quinoa Salad for the win. The recipe is vegetarian and should be gluten free, though be sure to check your spices to be sure.
And because we know you’ll want to save this recipe, here is a Pin to Pin to your favorite Pinterest board!
Curried Cauliflower Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
For the Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 head of cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
- 3 Tablespoons of coconut oil melted
- 1 Tablespoon yellow curry powder we like Penzey's Sweet Yellow Curry Powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Vinaigrette
- 4 Tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 heaping Tablespoon of minced shallot
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Salad
- 2 cups cooked quinoa recommend cooking the quinoa in chicken broth for extra flavor
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
Instructions
Cauliflower:
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
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Add the cauliflower and melted coconut oil to a large bowl and gently toss to coat the cauliflower.
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In a small bowl, mix together the curry powder, garlic powder and salt.
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Add the spice mixture to the cauliflower and mix well until the cauliflower is thoroughly coated.
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Transfer the cauliflower mixture to a large baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown and crisp a bit.
Vinaigrette:
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In a medium bowl, place the minced shallot, oil and vinegar and whisk to combine.
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Add salt and pepper to taste.
For the Salad:
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Using a large bowl, gently mix together the quinoa, cauliflower, golden raisins, and pine nuts. Add the vinaigrette and toss until the flavors are mixed.
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Salad may be served warm or refrigerated until ready to eat and served cold.
I love how you’ve used quinoa & cauliflower together!
Two of our favorites!
This really is such a wonderful and wholesome side dish…I love the combo of quinoa and cauliflower. It sounds and looks delish!
Thank you! It’s so yummy!
Quinoa is a favorite and we like cauliflower so combining the two should be a hit around my house.
Let us know what you think!
I love anything with curry! I dont make quinoa very often, but everytime I eat it I love it. I need to change that, espeically with this recipe! Looks delish!
Thanks Kristen! It is really good-and healthy!
I’m all over curried anything! And right now cauliflower is my favorite veggie!
I love finding new ways to use quinoa, curry is one of my favorites!
-Sarah
http://www.myfrostedlife.com
Then you should love this one! Thanks for visiting!
So you’ve crossed over to the dark side I see lol! I guess I’m one of the few in the resistance – I just love books too much…the feel, the smell and I do love looking at them on my bookshelves haha. This salad looks so tasty! We buy quinoa in bulk and are always on the lookout for different ways to cook and eat them. Your recipe will go into our rotation for sure 🙂
Definitely the dark side when it comes to novels, but we’ll never give up our cookbooks! Never!
Totally agree about cookbooks. I LOVE my cookbook shelf! <3 This salad looks amazing. I'm going to pin it and try it later!
My cookbook shelf has turned into 3 bookshelves…the entire bookshelf! An addiction for sure…
this sounds delicious. i love all the ingredients you’ve used and will be trying this soon!!
I hope you love it! It’s even good as leftovers!
I absolutely love the flavors in this, curry is one of my favorites, and with cauliflower I bet is it SO delicious
Thank you! We love this one!
Totally trying this recipe! I’ve never curried anything before! I’m excited!
I hope you love it!
I am totally with you on the book thing. I fought the e-readers for a while, not I don’t know what I would do without my Paperwhite. And this recipe looks so yummy. Pinned!
My paperwhite is my prized possession!
This looks so yummy and filling! Definitely want to make a batch of this over the weekend.
Holly and her husband fought over who got to eat the leftovers!
I love quinoa! Will have to try this out, looks really good.
Especially with the flavor infusion of the curry! Enjoy!
This looks delish!!! I am so into cauliflower right now! Have you tried ricing it to make fried rice?
I haven’t tried ricing it yet, but that is next on my list!
Such good idea with the curry flavor! I am printing this recipe to make it this weekend!
YAY! I hope you love it!
We LOVE curried cauliflower (literally make it at least once or twice a month!) so this is a nice update to our usual! I actually have everything I would need to make this tonight…hmm! Thanks for sharing!
Yay! Make it tonight!
The golden raisins are not listed in the ingredient list. I am trying to make the salad and am not sure how much I should add…