Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Everyday Paleo “No Potato” Salad


Ingredients
  • 2 heads of cauliflower
  • 1 dozen eggs, hard-boiled and diced
  • 1/2 a medium sized red onion, finely diced
  • 6-8 celery stalks, finely diced
  • A lot of dill pickles, diced
  • About 1 1/2 cups of my Paleo Mayo with 2 tablespoons of dried dill and 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic added.
  • About 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard
  • Black pepper to taste
Cut the cauliflower into large florets. I used my pressure cooker to cook the cauliflower by placing the florets in the cooker, filling the cooker with about 4 inches of water, locking the lid, bringing to pressure and cooking for about 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat immediately and run the cooker under cold water to quickly bring down the pressure. Remove the lid and pour the cauliflower through a strainer and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. You want the cauliflower to be soft but not mushy! If you do not have a pressure cooker, steam the cauliflower around 7-10 minutes, cooking until tender but not mushy. Rinse the steamed cauliflower under cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain the cauliflower well and pat dry with paper towels. Crumble the cauliflower into a large mixing bowl, add all of the remaining ingredients including the mayo, mustard, and pepper and mix well. Either eat right away or let chill for a couple of hours before serving. This salad was HUGE and could serve at least 15 people so cut the ingredients in half unless you are feeding a crowd or want a lot of leftovers.
Paleo Mayo
Secret for better tasting mayo, use just plain ol’ Olive Oil, not virgin or extra virgin.  If the bottle just says “Olive Oil” it will not have such a strong taste!
2 eggs
2 cups olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a blender, add the eggs, vinegar, and mustard and blend together well – leave the blender running and slowly slowly slowly drop by drop or very slow drizzle add the olive oil.  BE PATIENT!!  Do not dump all the oil in quickly and give up!!  When the mixture begins to emulsify or thicken, only then can you be a bit faster about pouring in the olive oil but still take your time.  Turn the blender off once all the olive oil is in and the mayonnaise is thickened to your desired consistency.  Add the salt and cayenne pepper and mix well or blend again for another few seconds.
Now for the fun part – variations!!!  Always wait until after your mayonnaise is thick before you add seasoning but here is when you can get creative.  Add dried of fresh dill, fresh basil, or cilantro, garlic and onion, hot sauce, or even curry powder to make your own spreads, sauces and dips for just about everything as mentioned earlier in the post. Now, watch my video to see the fun twist that I put on our homemade mayonnaise!

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