One of our favorite grocery stores here in Portland, Oregon is called World Foods. There are two locations and they stock some of the most interesting products from around the world, as well as produce and a fabulous beer and wine selection. Owned by a Lebanese family, who also owns one of the best Lebanese restaurants in town, their stores also feature a deli with some of city’s most delicious prepared salads. They make a chicken shawarma wrap that will knock your socks off.A shawarma wrap, to the unfamiliar, is similar to a gyro or kebab. Think freshly baked pita bread, savory, marinated meat, vegetables, and tahini sauce. Before the shawarma at World Foods, we had never heard of pickled turnips, a traditional Lebanese condiment. At World Foods they ask if you want your wrap with turnips as if there are barbarians out there who don’t want them. There’s something about the collision of garlic and bitterness of the turnips, the tang of the tahini sauce, and the spice from the chicken that make us want to swoon just typing these words.So how delicious would it be, we thought, to turn this shawarma into a salad, substituting roasted cauliflower for the chicken, and make Cauliflower Shawarma Salad?Pretty damn delicious, we’d say.So we researched the spices used in marinating chicken shawarma and marinated some chopped cauliflower instead. The trick is getting the spice mixture to evenly coat the cauliflower. Then we roasted it in the oven. It was hard not to snack on the cauliflower like popcorn.We used baby spinach for the greens, though romaine or leaf lettuce would work well too. Chopped cucumber, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, a little bit of crumbled feta.What the heck are those pink things?The pickled turnips not only add the fun burst of off color, they add a tangy, slightly bitter snap. We used this super easy recipe from David Lebovitz.Here’s the hard part: The turnips should be made a week or so ahead of time. So you can go ahead and make these turnips now and and plan for this salad next weekend. You could skip the turnips altogether or add some other delicious pickled vegetable, like pickled cucumber or red onion, or marinated artichokes.The vegetables and feta are so flavorful they could stand on their own, but why let them? We topped it with our creamy, lemony Tahini Dressing for the full shawarma experience.You can serve the Cauliflower Shawarma Salad right away while the cauliflower is still warm, or store in containers for take away lunches, like we did. This salad was very filling, but if you need some extra protein, try adding a sliced hard-boiled egg or a scoop on quinoa. Or round things out with some warm pita bread on the side. (See what we did, there?)Tangy, crunchy, shawarma-y goodness! Go forth, make this Cauliflower Shawarma Salad! Cauliflower Shawarma Salad with Tahini Dressing Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Servings: salad lovers Ingredients 1 medium head cauliflower 1 medium head cauliflower 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp paprika 2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp tumeric 1/2 tsp tumeric 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp olive oil 3 persian cucumbercan substitute with 1 regular cucumber 3 persian cucumbercan substitute with 1 regular cucumber 1 cup pickled turnips, diced 1 cup pickled turnips, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 2 cups cherry tomatoes 2 cups cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup crumbled feta 1/2 cup crumbled feta Instructions Preheat oven to 350F. For the cauliflower: Core and chop cauliflower in to bite-sized pieces. Mix the spices together in a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl or gallon-sized zip-lock bag, mix together the spices, cauliflower, and olive oil until the cauliflower is well coated. Spread cauliflower on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Place spinach or lettuce in a bowl or distribute into four containers. Top with remaining ingredients. Serve with Tahini Dressing. Print this recipe Add to your Shopping List »This recipe is in your Shopping List. Add to your Meal Planner » Select Course to Add:BreakfastLunchDinner This recipe has been added to your Meal Planner.Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. ΔThis site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
