Riced Cauliflower is gaining in popularity in an assortment of dishes. You can create riced cauliflower in your food processor on the rice setting with a fresh medium head of cauliflower. You have to be careful not to overprocess though, as you will end up with mushy cauliflower. Bagged rice cauliflower is also available now at my local supermarket, so if you want to just quickly experiment with riced cauliflower without the trouble of food processing, that option is available.

Not having the fanciest of food processors, I achieved a crumbled cauliflower – nice tiny riced size pieces, not mushy, just crisp.

Here’s the recipe:

1 medium riced or crumbled head of cauliflower

1/2 cup Kraft Calorie Wise Greek Feta and Oregano Salad Dressing – (more to taste if you like)

1/2 cup sliced pitted black olives

1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

1/4 cup diced onion

chopped fresh chives and mint sprigs to sprinkle on top

Fresh ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate . Add more dressing if desired and optionally sprinkle on feta cheese!

I got this recipe from my supermarket’s in store dietitian. I thought it would be a good alternative salad to bring to a BBQ when there is already tossed salad, potato salad and all the basics. In reviewing this recipe, of which there are different versions floating around, I would make a few changes. I like recipes without too many ingredients that can be put together quickly with whats on hand – so a pre-made dressing, parsley, mint and chives from my garden were a bonus to me. You could also make your own dressing with oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, oregano and feta cheese. Here are my notes:

-I left out the cherry tomatoes to please a family member – the recipe absolutely need these!

-I used fresh parsley from my garden – test the flavor first – mine is SUPERSTRONG and overwhelmed the recipe.

-Red onion, or a sweet onion would be nicer.

-I would like to add chopped cucumber and maybe even chicpeas.

-The raisins confused my testers, there was sweetness hiding in the salad, but they thought they were beans! You could leave these out.

-Finally, my crunchy cauliflower together with the crunchy onions was a bit too much for me. I think I may lightly steam and cool my cauliflower and try it again.

So if you are going to try this or one of the other recipes that are out there, I would consider these points and perhaps change it up a little bit!