This salad is full of colour and hits all the notes – sweet, salty, bitter, crunchy, creamy and grounding – all whilst being amazingly good for you. It’s helped us over here through December and is still in the weekly repertoire for January. Leftovers are amazing, too – just don’t add the dressing if you are going to save some for the next day. It really doesn’t taste like a detox salad, but it does actively support phase 1 and phase 2 of liver detoxification.
A few notes! You can pick chicken or chickpeas, depending on your protein preference. I keep the cashews whole for a substantial crunch, but you could also opt for pumpkin seeds or walnuts. There is a lot of cruciferous from the baby kale, roasted cauliflower and slivered purple cabbage. It should equal out to be an equal ratio between greens and cauliflower – which makes it heartier and more of a warm bowl food concept which is good with these temperatures. I used unsulfured apricots, which means they are much darker, but it also means they don’t have preservatives (sulphur). Don’t skimp and only use one cauliflower head, they shrink in size by about half when roasted. I promise it is worth it!
The vinaigrette is simple and helps with nutrient absorption as many vitamins need a source of fat in order for the body to absorb them, but any neutral high-quality dressing can work in a pinch (homemade or Annie’s / Braggs – look for non-GMO and preferably organic oils). This recipe is super easy and the tahini grounds the dish a bit, too. We always add herbs from the garden – it is the easiest way to boost antioxidants and flavour. Hope you enjoy and feel free to add and take out what you like, too
Ingredients:
1 bunch of watercress, baby kale or arugula (or 2 handfuls per person)
2 heads of cauliflower, broken into 1-inch florets
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed thoroughly
Red cabbage, slivered, 1 cup
1/3 cup olives, pitted and chopped in half
Dried apricots (sulphur free) (2 per person)
½ cup cashews, dry roasted
4 tbsp. Parsley
For the Dressing:
4 tbsp. Olive oil
1 tbsp. tahini
1 tbsp. Honey
1 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tbsp. lemon, juice
1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Tear cauliflower into small one inch florets. The smaller, the crispier. Toss in some light olive or avocado oil, and place on 2 parchment lined trays for easy clean up. Don’t try to squish them onto one – as they will steam instead of getting crispy. Roasted for 30 minutes or until crispy and golden brown!
On a separate baking tray, add the rinsed and dries chickpeas. Toss in sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, also.
In a big bowl, add the greens, halved olives, chopped apricots, cashews, parsley and red cabbage. Once the chickpeas and cauliflower have roasted, toss them in.
For the dressing, whisk everything together and toss into the salad. Extra herbs on top, if you wish!
