Potluck "Rice" Salad

Here's the recipe for the salad I made for last night's Toastmasters Bash at the Lake. Super-yummy, very pretty, serves a crowd, and the leftovers are even better the next day -- and I'm betting the day after that.

Potluck "Rice" Salad

1 cauliflower, head
1 small red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 bunch scallions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper

Whack your cauliflower in half, and remove the leaves. Trim off the very bottom of the stem. Now whack it into chunks, and run it through the shredding blade of your food processor. Dump the resulting "cauli-rice" into a microwaveable casserole with a lid, add a few tablespoons of water, cover, and nuke on "high" for 8-10 minutes.

While that's happening, dice your red onion and your pepper, and slice your scallions, including the crisp part of the green shoot. Throw all this in a huge mixing bowl (I'm lucky enough to have one made by Tupperware, that has a lid.) Mince your parsley and oregano, and throw that in, too.

Somewhere during all that chopping, your microwave will beep. Pull out the cauliflower and uncover it, to let out the steam and stop the cooking. Stir it up to let out more steam, then let it sit and cool a bit while you proceed with the rest of the recipe. Stirring it again every now and then will speed cooling.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice, until the whole thing is smooth and nice. This, of course, is your dressing.

When your cauliflower is cool enough that it's not going to cook all your other veggies (it can still be warm), drain it well and add it to the mixing bowl. Stir the whole thing up. Now add the dressing, and stir till everything is evenly coated.

Salt and pepper to taste. You can eat it right away if you like, but it's better if it's refrigerated for a few hours, first.

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At least 12 servings. Assuming 12 servings, each will have: 188 Calories; 19g Fat ; 2g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber;

NOTES : This makes a huge vat of salad, enough for a crowd -- depends somewhat on how big your head of cauliflower is; I used a real whopper. 12 servings is an estimate.