Ever since coming back from the holidays and being away from home for a few weeks, I was getting really sick of restaurant food and all I have been craving are salads and lots of fresh foods. My body was just screaming for more greens, veggies, and wholesome foods.

Things also have been quite busy, so I haven't been cooking at home nearly as much as I normally do or would like to, so I have been a frequent sweetgreen customer. They have amazing seasonal menus that are based off what produce is in season, locally, and you guys know I'm all about that. 

During the fall, sweetgreen had this amazing roasted curried cauliflower and quinoa seasonal salad with a tahini dressing that I became absolutely obsessed with and it was almost obnoxious how many times I got that for lunch. Naturally, I decided I needed to come up with my own version of this at home.

You guys know my obsession with roasted cauliflower, and how I'd be happy to eat it as a meal alone- but I need to throw some other nutrients on there. I got some microgreens from the Union Square farmers market as my salad greens, but arugula, baby kale, or any baby greens (or big greens, chopped up) would really work. I liked the mix of the slight bitterness of the microgreens with the creamy smoothness of the tahini though. 

This salad was really quick to make for me, as I had made a big batch of quinoa at the beginning of the week to use throughout. For you meat-eaters, I'd also recommend throwing some grilled chicken and that soft-boiled egg on there for some extra protein. 

This salad is naturally gluten-free, and the spicy garlicky tahini dressing is a great creamy dressing that happens to also be vegan. It's hard to find creamy dressings without the addition of dairy, and this one is definitely my favorite one I've made thus far.

It's a great winter salad because it's refreshing while still being filling and hearty. On to the recipe!

Roasted Cauliflower & Quinoa Salad w/Spicy Garlicky Tahini Dressing

*makes 2 servings

Ingredients

For Salad:
1 small head of Roasted Cauliflower
2/3 cup of Quinoa, cooked (I used Red)
2 big handfuls of Microgreens (or whichever greens you choose to use- use 3 handfuls for bigger greens)
2 tbsp of chopped Chives
Optional: Boiled Egg to top

For Garlicky Tahini Dressing:
1/3 cup pure Tahini 
2 tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
2 cloves of crushed Garlic, (I use Dorot- life-saver!)
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (I used finely-ground Korean Red Pepper)
~1/3 cup of water, pending on consistency desired

Recipe 

1. Get the cauliflower roasting, as per my recipe's instructions here.

2. Combine all ingredients minus the water for the tahini dressing in a small bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork. Add the water gradually at the end, mixing in between to make sure you get the consistency you want. Set bowl aside

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all salad ingredients and mix thoroughly with a spatula. Drizzle in as much tahini sauce as you wish to add, and mix well until salad is well-blended. Plate, and serve!

*Tip: I used only a little over half of the tahini sauce, as I thinned it out quite a bit with a bit over 1/3 cup of water, so there was a decent amount left to make a double portion of this salad. Any leftovers, you can refrigerate in an airtight container.

Want more salad ideas?