Thanksgiving Side Dish – Cauliflower Salad with Tarragon Dressing

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I’m going through all my “favorites” that I’ve saved specifically for the menu and loaded them into their own folder, I’m going through my cookbooks and perusing other great blogs (of course!).

This one is actually something I made about five years ago – cleaning out the fridge and pantry. I initially made it with broccoli and I loved it so much I’ve made it several more times and also tried it with cauliflower, which is equally as good. (FYI: I didn’t cook the broccoli, but I felt like the cauliflower salad wouldn’t be as good raw).

Just a quickie nutritional tidbit….Cauliflower is high in fiber, folate and vitamin C, extremely low in fat and can be a great sub for mashed potatoes if you’re watching carbohydrates. If you haven’t seen it, check out my Cauliflower Smash with Grey Poupon Gravy. It’s so yummy and would be a great low carb side dish for your Thanksgiving spread.

Cauliflower Salad with Tarragon Dressing

1 head cauliflower, washed and broken into pieces

3/4 cup salted peanuts

1/3 cup raisins (or craisins, dried blueberries, or your favorite dried fruit)

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

3 tbsp mayonnaise (not low-fat)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dried tarragon

Salt

Pepper

Bring a large pot to a boil and add the cauliflower; cook for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Whisk together the vinegar, mayo and tarragon. Salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the cauliflower, and throw it all in a big mixing bowl. Add the raisins and peanuts, then drizzle the dressing over the top. Toss to thoroughly combine.

This salad is great warm, but it’s also really good cold after it’s sat in the fridge for about a day.

Happy Monday!

~Dixie Chik~