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Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion Pears Brussels Sprouts Recipe

April 27, 2015 by Jeanette 17 Comments

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Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion, Pears, Brussels Sprouts, Watercress, Medjool Dates and Cashews is crunchy, juicy, sweet and tangy – it’s a party in your mouth.
Shaved Cauliflower Brussels Sprout Pear Salad with Watercress Medjool Dates and Cashews - crunchy, juicy and sweet, this healthy salad is drizzled with a honey balsamic flax seed oil dressing

Recently, my husband and I sampled a shaved cauliflower salad at a local restaurant. I’ve eaten my share of roasted cauliflower, and made salads with cauliflower florets, but I’ve never tried shaving it before. It was an interesting combination of cauliflower, Medjool dates and cashews in a white balsamic dressing. I recreated my own version at home, adding pickled onions, brussels sprouts, and watercress served with a honey white balsamic dressing.

Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion Pears Brussels Sprouts Watercress Medjool Dates and Cashews - crunchy, juicy and sweet, this healthy salad is drizzled with a honey balsamic flax seed oil dressing

Shaving cauliflower is fairly labor intensive, so I would highly recommend making this for two people as opposed to a crowd. Although I have a regular size mandoline, I used my mini mandoline (OXO makes a mini hand-held mandoline) to shave both the cauliflower and brussels sprouts. The trick is to cut the cauliflower in half before shaving it so you have a flat surface to work with. For the brussels sprouts, I sliced off a bit of each sprout to make a flat surface too before shaving it.

Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion Pears Brussels Sprouts Watercress Medjool Dates and Cashews - crunchy, juicy and sweet, this healthy salad is drizzled with a honey balsamic flax seed oil dressing

 

You’ll be left with lots of smaller pieces of cauliflower and brussels sprout ends, but don’t throw any of this out. I tossed all the little bits and pieces together with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them for dinner.

Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion Pears Brussels Sprouts Watercress Medjool Dates and Cashews - crunchy, juicy and sweet, this healthy salad is drizzled with a honey balsamic flax seed oil dressing

This salad is full of textures and balances sweet and bitter flavors. Watercress adds some brightness and a little bitterness that’s balanced with sweet Medjool dates and honey, juicy pears, and toasted cashews. The dressing is a simple combination of flaxseed oil, honey and white balsamic vinegar (Trader Joe’s carries this).

Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion Pears Brussels Sprouts Watercress Medjool Dates and Cashews - crunchy, juicy and sweet, this healthy salad is drizzled with a honey balsamic flax seed oil dressing

If you’re looking for a new way to enjoy cauliflower, give this Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion, Pears, Brussels Sprouts, Watercress, Medjool Dates and Cashews a try – you won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Pickled Onion Pears Brussels Sprouts Watercress Medjool Dates and Cashews - crunchy, juicy and sweet, this healthy salad is drizzled with a honey balsamic flax seed oil dressing
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Shaved Cauliflower Brussels Sprout Salad with Dates Pears and Cashews Recipe

Servings 2

Ingredients

Pickled Onions

  • 1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon organic sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 red onion halved, thinly sliced

Cauliflower Salad

  • 2 cups cauliflower florets larger ones
  • 2 cups brussels sprouts bottoms trimmed and loose outer leaves removed
  • 2 cups watercress
  • 1 pear peeled, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons toasted cashews
  • 4 Medjool dates pitted, chopped

Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Pickled Onions

  1. Mix together vinegar, salt and sugar in a small container until sugar and salt dissolve; add sliced onions and toss gently; let sit at room temperature for an hour; refrigerate if you're not using right away.

Cauliflower Salad

  1. Thinly slice cauliflower florets and brussels sprouts using mandoline. You will have smaller pieces that break off (save these and make Roasted Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts for another meal).
  2. Lay watercress in bottoms of 2 individual salad bowls. Layer shaved cauliflower, brussels sprouts and pears on top. Add a few slices of pickled onion. Sprinkle with toasted cashews and chopped dates.
  3. Whisk together Dressing ingredients. Drizzle on top of salad and serve.

 

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Filed Under: Clean Eating, cruciferous vegetables, dairy-free, gluten-free, New Year, salads, side dishes, vegetarian Tagged With: brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Medjool dates, pears, pickled onions, shaved cauliflower salad, watercress

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Comments

  1. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

    April 27, 2015 at 6:41 am

    What a beautiful and tasty salad!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 27, 2015 at 10:21 pm

      Thanks Angie – this salad has lots going on 🙂

      Reply
  2. Chelsey says

    April 27, 2015 at 7:42 am

    I loveee pickled onions in a salad…it makes it feel so fancy! Can’t wait to make this one! Pinned!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 27, 2015 at 10:22 pm

      Thanks Chelsey – pickled onions are so easy to make and they add that little extra touch in this salad.

      Reply
  3. Cassandra @ Almost Getting it Together says

    April 27, 2015 at 9:43 am

    I love pickeled onions but have never tried making them… I can’t wait to try your recipe! Plus I feel like it’s great to make for lunch all week because the flavor will just get better!!

    Reply
  4. Liz - Meal Makeover Moms says

    April 27, 2015 at 10:02 am

    This is my kind of recipe. I’ve been on a cauliflower jag lately, so I must try this! So fresh 🙂

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 27, 2015 at 10:25 pm

      Liz – loved seeing all your cauliflower recipe ideas today – I’m a big fan of cauliflower so always looking for new ideas!

      Reply
  5. Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

    April 27, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    I love watercress! Such a wonderful unique flavor!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 27, 2015 at 10:25 pm

      Rebecca – so funny, I never ate watercress raw as a kid, but I love it – it adds such nice crunch and flavor in salads.

      Reply
  6. Emily @SinfulNutrition says

    April 27, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    Loved that you used watercress. So different! And the perfect way for me to give it a try! 🙂

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 27, 2015 at 10:26 pm

      Thanks Emily – I’ve been loving watercress in salads lately 🙂

      Reply
  7. alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says

    April 28, 2015 at 11:25 am

    sounds and looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 29, 2015 at 7:48 pm

      Thanks Alison!

      Reply
  8. Kelly says

    April 29, 2015 at 5:20 am

    This salad looks amazing! I love how full of different flavors there are in here. I am such a big fan of watercress and cauliflower and the pickled onions sound perfect!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 29, 2015 at 7:51 pm

      Thanks Kelly – this salad has a lot going on in it so it’s really fun to eat!

      Reply
  9. kim- Today's Creative Blog says

    April 29, 2015 at 11:02 am

    Looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 29, 2015 at 7:52 pm

      Thanks Kim!

      Reply

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