Marinated Cauliflower & Fennel Salad

The Marinade

In a large stainless bowl (for quick cooling)

• ½ cup golden balsamic vinegar (if the head of cauliflower is large use ¾ cup)

Use a sweet vinegar of some kind if you don’t have golden balsamic.  It’s the sweet flavor of the vinegar against the salty olives and capers that make this salad so tasty.

• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 4 cloves minced garlic

Into the marinade stir

• 1 head of fennel-shaved
• 1 purple onion -minced

While those veggies are marinating:

Steam the Cauliflower

• 1 head of cauliflower cut into flowerets; nice bite-size pieces that will marinate well and sit nicely on your fork.

Blanch the cauliflower in boiling water for ONLY 1 min.  Retain some tooth.  

Drain.

Toss the hot cauliflower over the marinated veggies and stir for about 3 min. to help it cool down. The heat of the cauliflower will take the sharp bite out of the onion.

Toss in:

• 1 cup of chopped olives (kalamata, green or regular black olive in a can)
• 3 Tb capers (optional)
• ½ cup chopped parsley or celery leaves  (you could use dill fronds if it’s in season)
• ½ cup fennel fronds  from the bulb you’ve already shaved
• 2 sweet peppers if in season (red and green are pretty)-diced
• Add 4 cups of garbanzo beans (optional, leave them out if you're going to serve with Hummus)

Marinate for a least 4 hours. Best if it sits in the fridge overnight.

Serving Suggestion:  Spread hummus on the bottom of a wide shallow bowl.  Top with the marinated salad and serve.

Lasts for several days.

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