I love purple and when I see purple food, I pretty much can’t resist.  And there is a surprising amount of produce that comes in lovely shades of purple that I had no clue about.  Like this cauliflower.  

There are also purple bell peppers, purple asparagus, purple green beans (although I guess they would just be called purple beans?) and purple sweet potatoes.  Then, of course, there are the regular purple players like eggplant, grapes, purple cabbage, and purple people eaters.

Sorry, that song has been going through my head this entire time.

Moving on.  At the grocery store, I came across this purple cauliflower and just threw it into my cart not knowing what I would make just knowing it was purple and I wanted it.  I searched around online for something to do with it that wouldn’t require the oven since at the time it was way too hot for that and came across tabbouleh. 

Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern dish made most typically with bulgar, tomatoes, mint, parsley, and lemon juice.  There are a few variations and each place has their own version including the Dawson house.  I decided to try it out with riced cauliflower and it turned out pretty spectacularly.  Not only was it pretty to look at, it was delicious to eat.  Simple and refreshing and perfect for the end of summer.

Now, if you can’t find purple cauliflower regular old cauliflower will do.  It won’t look as fantastically colored as this one but it will still taste the same!

Purple Cauliflower Tabbouleh 

• 1 head of purple cauliflower
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 8 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in quarters
• 1 cucumber, cut into small cubes
• 2 cups parsley leaves, chopped and tightly packed
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, cut into ribbons and tightly packed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 lemons
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets and remove as much of the stems as possible (save them for this sauce!) and place the tops into a food processor or blender.  Pulse a few times until the cauliflower reaches the consistency of rice.
2. Place the riced cauliflower into a large bowl and add the tomatoes, parsley, and mint.  Stir everything together.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and shallots.  Pour over the cauliflower and stir so everything is coated.
4. Add the salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust any seasonings as you would like.

You can serve this right away, but it tastes even better if it sits in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.