I made this salad for friends a few days ago. It was a big hit. It's beautiful, elegant, and tasty. It's a prefect little meal for a vegetarian, or a nice starter for a summer lunch. The white ingredient on the bottom is the real show stopper. It's cauliflower disguised to appear like couscous. Simple in appearance, but labor intensive; however, I think it's worth the effort.
At Service:
1. place all of the vegetables (the bok choy, carrots, turnips, asparagus, arugula, and tomatoes) in a bowl, add the vinaigrette, chopped herbs, and S&P. Taste to make sure it tastes the way you like it.
2. Build a stack of the vegetables on top of the couscous. I like to place the vegetables individually to equally portion the ingredients and to construct a visually appealing stack.
3. Using a spoon, drizzle the plate ,in a circle, around the salad.
Enjoy!
Here is how I made it:
Ingredients for 6 servings:
18 leaves Bok Choy
12 small carrots
3 turnips
18 arugual leaves
12 cherry tomatoes
12 asparagus sticks
1 head of cauliflower
Olive Oil
your own vinaigrette (I made it with champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, meyer lemon syrup, garlic confit, and olive oil)
Finely chopped herbs (I used chives, parsley, and mint)
Directions:
The next steps can be done a few hours before service.
1. prep the vegetables by trimming bok choy, trim asparagus by cutting the inedible part of the stems, cut turnips in 1/4's and then shape them (Turning), trim carrots and cut lengthwise into 2 or 4 pieces depending on the thickness of the carrots.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. This will be used to blanch the above vegetables.
3. prepare a bowl of ice water
4. Blanch each of the vegetables separately in their like groups just until they are cooked but still firm and barely crunchy. Immediately remove from the hot water and place in ice water to stop the cooking and to retain the vibrant color of the vegetables. Begin with the turnips, then the greens, then the carrots to prevent color contamination.Leave in the water only until they are cooled, then remove and place in a tupperware lined with moist paper towels to keep the vegetables moist. Don't leave in the ice bath too long as this will result in loss of flavor and nutrients of the vegetable. Place in the fridge until ready for plating.
5. For the cauliflower couscous, remove the florets from the stems. Place in a cuisinart and pulsate until finely chopped similar in size to grains of couscous.
6. Bring to boil just enough salted water to cover the couscous. Drop the couscous in the water and cook for 1 minute. Strain with a fine mesh strainer and then immediately dip the strainer in the ice bath to cool the couscous. Once cooled, empty the strainer on a cutting board and use paper towels to blot ALL of the moisture out of the cauliflower. Next, place the cauliflower in a bowl, add olive oil, some chopped herbs, and s&p. Taste as you do this until you arrive at a balanced taste.
7. Using a ring mold, and your salad plates, pre-form the cauliflower couscous on each of the plates and place in the fridge. You could do this during service, but I find it easier to do ahead.
8. Cut cherry tomatoes into 1/4's and cover, but keep at room temp.
9. Make your vinaigrette
Ingredients for 6 servings:
18 leaves Bok Choy
12 small carrots
3 turnips
18 arugual leaves
12 cherry tomatoes
12 asparagus sticks
1 head of cauliflower
Olive Oil
your own vinaigrette (I made it with champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, meyer lemon syrup, garlic confit, and olive oil)
Finely chopped herbs (I used chives, parsley, and mint)
Directions:
The next steps can be done a few hours before service.
1. prep the vegetables by trimming bok choy, trim asparagus by cutting the inedible part of the stems, cut turnips in 1/4's and then shape them (Turning), trim carrots and cut lengthwise into 2 or 4 pieces depending on the thickness of the carrots.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. This will be used to blanch the above vegetables.
3. prepare a bowl of ice water
4. Blanch each of the vegetables separately in their like groups just until they are cooked but still firm and barely crunchy. Immediately remove from the hot water and place in ice water to stop the cooking and to retain the vibrant color of the vegetables. Begin with the turnips, then the greens, then the carrots to prevent color contamination.Leave in the water only until they are cooled, then remove and place in a tupperware lined with moist paper towels to keep the vegetables moist. Don't leave in the ice bath too long as this will result in loss of flavor and nutrients of the vegetable. Place in the fridge until ready for plating.
5. For the cauliflower couscous, remove the florets from the stems. Place in a cuisinart and pulsate until finely chopped similar in size to grains of couscous.
6. Bring to boil just enough salted water to cover the couscous. Drop the couscous in the water and cook for 1 minute. Strain with a fine mesh strainer and then immediately dip the strainer in the ice bath to cool the couscous. Once cooled, empty the strainer on a cutting board and use paper towels to blot ALL of the moisture out of the cauliflower. Next, place the cauliflower in a bowl, add olive oil, some chopped herbs, and s&p. Taste as you do this until you arrive at a balanced taste.
7. Using a ring mold, and your salad plates, pre-form the cauliflower couscous on each of the plates and place in the fridge. You could do this during service, but I find it easier to do ahead.
8. Cut cherry tomatoes into 1/4's and cover, but keep at room temp.
9. Make your vinaigrette
At Service:
1. place all of the vegetables (the bok choy, carrots, turnips, asparagus, arugula, and tomatoes) in a bowl, add the vinaigrette, chopped herbs, and S&P. Taste to make sure it tastes the way you like it.
2. Build a stack of the vegetables on top of the couscous. I like to place the vegetables individually to equally portion the ingredients and to construct a visually appealing stack.
3. Using a spoon, drizzle the plate ,in a circle, around the salad.
Enjoy!
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