Ah, recovery feels nice.
Highlights of my Super Bowl Sunday included my attempt at Texas chili, potato skins from Bacon Bacon, oatmeal sandwich cookie bars, one or two too many margaritas, and the delightful concept of tater tot casserole. There was also a game on in the background somewhere.
Shockingly that mixture of salt, fat, and tequila didn't age well and, needless to say, I felt terrible yesterday. By the time I plopped down for dinner, my body was demanding something, anything, please, that would not make me feel like the human equivalent of the fritos I used to garnish my chili.
So, I grabbed all of the vegetables in my refrigerator and ate them while watching a mini-marathon of Parenthood. I made a cauliflower rice bowl full of chickpeas, apples, and all of my favorite taco garnishes, which was exactly the cure that I needed. I think I even heard my arteries sobbing in relief.*
*Actually, that was me, crying out all of the moisture left in my body. That Jason Katims, he gives me feels.
Cauliflower "Rice" Bowl with Crispy Roasted Chickpeas, Apples, and Garnishes
I adapted this recipe from one that I found on The First Mess. I omitted the mint and the chives, doubled the green onion, and swapped pumpkin seeds for the sunflower seeds. I never use parsley where I can use cilantro instead, so I made that swap as well. I also roasted the chickpeas for 30 minutes, to get them as crispy as I wanted them.
This yielded a giant bowl of veggies, so I would say you could get anywhere from 4-6 servings of this as a main dish.
For the chickpeas:
1 15 oz can chickpeas
zest of 1 lime
olive oil
chili powder
salt + pepper
For the cauliflower rice:
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
olive oil
zest of 1 lime
juice of 2 limes
2 tsp honey
5 radishes, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro
4 green onions, sliced
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
avocado, cut into chunks, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse chickpeas and dry them. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and toss in some olive oil, then sprinkle with the lime zest, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and then roast to desired crispiness, about 25-30 minutes.
While chickpeas are roasting, pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor until you have what looks like grains of rice. You will probably have to do this in multiple batches, depending on the size of your food processor. Once each batch is processed, scrape the cauliflower rice into a large bowl.
Whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, mustard, honey, 4 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the cauliflower and mix.
To the bowl, add your cilantro, radishes, green onions, apple, and pumpkin seeds and stir to combine. When the chickpeas are done add those as well. Garnish with avocado and serve!
