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Smoky Cauliflower & Potato Salad (You will Love the Mayo-Free Sauce That Goes With it!)

Name: Smoky Cauliflower & Potato Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 3 medium potatoes; 2 small Sweet potatoes; 2 medium onions; 3 whole garlic with skin on; 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (depending on if you like it); 1 teaspoon sumac (optional); 1 hot pepper (optional); 3 olive/coconut melted oil; pinch salt; fresh thyme; 3 cups colored cauliflowers of your choice, here I'd green, purple and white cauliflowers. Or just use white cauliflower; 2 small potatoes for the sauce; 2 cups boiling water; pinch salt; 2 steamed then mashed potatoes; 2 roasted garlic; 1 tablespoon baobab; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard sauce with seeds; 1 teaspoon vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar); pinch salt; 3-5 tablespoons cold water (you can use the steaming cauliflower water); 1 lemon zest; fresh herbs of your choice ( here I added chives, dill, and thyme)

by Githu

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Smoky cauliflower & potato salad is a delicious way of combining Sweet & Irish potatoes into a low-carb vegan platter. I opted for a Mayo-free, vegan dish, and used onions roasted in smoked paprika to bring out a really rich flavor.

If you are a fan of potatoes, but want to eat them in healthy ways, then I've got you covered. Potatoes are always a great accompaniment to any meal, especially for vegetarian and vegan preferences. On that, note, feel free to take a peep at this potato salad to give you an idea of what you can do for an easy, light salad.

I received so much great feedback on my cauliflower recipe, that I thought I could try a combo of both cauliflower & potatoes. That's how this smoky cauliflower & potato salad was created. It's a fun, simple salad but you will need to prepare some of the ingredients in advance.

How to Roast/ Bake your Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes

The secret behind the delicious flavor in this smoky cauliflower & potato salad is in using some smoked paprika with the ingredients. Roasting your potatoes in smoked paprika will give them a smoky flavor that makes this salad really delicious.

Spicy paprika roasted potatoes with onions

To start with, choose small potatoes and sweet potatoes.
The best way to roast these potatoes fast is to cut them up into small chunks.
Chop up some onions as well.
Use a combination of smoked paprika and sumac spices to bring flavors. Smoked paprika smells so good that you'd eat a whole plate of these roasted potatoes.
Sprinkle the baking sheet generously with the spices.
Pour the veggies and add oil on top.
Using a spatula or your hands, mix the potatoes, onions, spices, and oil together
Spread the veggies on a single layer over the baking sheet.
Put them to roast in the oven and turn them after 20 minutes to roast the other side
Once the potatoes are ready, let them cool before you make the cauliflower & potato salad

How to Steam Cauliflower

We're in the fall season in France and this is when we've got a chance to get colored cauliflowers. They come in purple, orange, and green colors. Feel free to use white cauliflower if you don't have access to the other variants.

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan.
As the water is going, cut up a well washed cauliflower into florets. Cut the cauliflower florets from the cauliflower head carefully, and place them in the steaming basket.
Spread the cauliflower evenly in the steaming basket so that the steaming can take as short a time as possible. This ensures that the cauliflower cooks evenly and quickly, to preserve the nutrients in them.
Put the steaming basket with the florets in the saucepan of boiling water.
Let the water boil at a relatively high heat.
Check if the cauliflower is cooked by inserting a fork in one of the florets
Don't overcook them. You want the cauliflower florets to be firm but cooked for this salad. Over-steamed cauliflower will be mushy.
Turn off the heat as soon as the florets are ready.
Remove the steaming basket with the steamed cauliflower from the water, otherwise, the steam will continue cooking the cauliflower.
Let the steamed cauliflower cool before you can handle it.

How to Make a Vegan, Creamy Mustard Sauce

For this cauliflower & potato salad, I wanted to make a creamy sauce without any mayo, yoghurt or cream. What I came up with was this creamy mustard sauce that's super delicious, and goes perfectly with the salad. Here's how to make it.

To substitute the mayo, use 1 or 2 steamed potatoes that you'll steam along with the cauliflowers. Make sure to cut these potatoes into small cubes so that they can steam fast.
When ready, pick out the potato cubes from the steamer, and mash them using a fork. Mash the potatoes while they're still warm.
Finally, add in some Dijon mustard to the mashed potatoes, along with some Olive oil, vinegar and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly until smooth. You can also add in some water to make the sauce lighter, as you desire.
I've included the full recipe at the end of this post; feel free to share, download or print it out.

Smoky Cauliflower & Potato Salad - How to Blend it All Together

Once you are done with the roasting and steaming, let the veggies cool before assembling this cauliflower & potato salad.

As you wait for the cauliflower and potatoes to cool, you can be chopping up the herbs.
In a large bowl, toss everything together to make this healthy delicious smoky cauliflower potato salad.
This cauliflower potato salad can be a meal on its own because it's very filling. Alternatively, it makes a delicious side dish to a main meal.

Enjoy the deliciousness of this smoky cauliflower & potato salad, and let me know how your salad turned out.

Let's eat healthy and heal gut inflammation day-by-day, together. Thank you for being here, thank you for sharing...

My love to you, Githu.

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