This shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese might just become your new favorite salad. Made with thinly shaved cauliflower, celery, parsley, toasted walnuts, salty pecorino cheese, and a perfectly creamy white balsamic dressing. An insanely delicious and hearty vegetarian salad!
Oh Em GEE you guys. This shaved cauliflower salad has stolen my heart and I want everyone to know about it.
Yes, it’s shout-it-from-the-roof-tops DELICIOUS.
Several weeks ago the hubs and I were out to dinner with some of his co-workers at one of my all time favorite seafood restaurants here in Seattle, Rock Creek. I could quite literally go on and on about all the things I love about this restaurant (brunch! oysters! cocktails!), but the one thing I really want to talk about is THIS CAULIFLOWER SALAD.
I’m not usually one to get blown away by a salad that I have at a restaurant. Usually it’s the type of thing that I end up feeling like I could have made yummier at home (sorry not sorry?). But we shared a plate of their cauliflower salad and I died a little bit with each and every bite.
I knew I had to re-create it so I could eat it on demand at all times and also share the joys of shaved cauliflower salad with anyone who would let me.
Their salad is a bit different than the one I have recreated here. They use both purple and regular white cauliflower (so pretty!), toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts, some calabrian chili, and toasted farro.
I didn’t try it with the farro (because gluten), but it was delicious without and they were happy to put it on the side for everyone else at the table to enjoy.
It’s surprisingly easy to make, and such a unique and crave worthy flavor combination. I just know you’re going to be forever-in-love too one you it up for yourself!
What does this shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese taste like?
This cauliflower salad is:
- Crunchy
- Fresh
- Salty
- Flavorful
- Herbaceous
- Peppery
- Satisfying
- SCRUMPTIOUS
How to make this shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese
Start by whisking together all the cauliflower salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
What ingredients you need for the cauliflower salad dressing
- White balsamic vinegar (or red or white wine vinegar. If using one of these instead of white balsamic you may need to add another teaspoon or two of maple syrup / honey as they’re not as naturally sweet.)
- Mayonnaise
- Olive oil
- Dijon mustard
- Maple syrup or honey
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
Once they dressing is ready, move onto prepping the rest of the salad.
What ingredients you need for the cauliflower salad
- Raw cauliflower
- A few stalks of celery
- Parsley
- Walnuts
- Pecorino cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Okay. So the most “technical” part about making this recipe is how you cut the cauliflower and celery. For the best texture and the best coating of the yummiest salad dressing, you really want to slice them both as thinly as possible.
Grab a sharp knife, a large cutting board, and patiently chop away. You’ll thank yourself (and everyone else will probably thank you too 😉) once you take your first bite.
Cutting the celery is pretty straight forward – just lay it flat and slice away.
That’s the easier veggie to cut between the two.
To cut the cauliflower:
- First, cut away any leaves near the base of the head of cauliflower, and then slice the stalk in half until you can pull it apart into 2 large pieces.
- From there you can sort of cut large florets away from the stalk from the center of the cauliflower out. Try and keep the florets no bigger than 2 inches around. You can easily cut them in half if they’re larger than that before you start slicing.
- Now take each individual floret of cauliflower and slice it as thinly and evenly as possible. Transfer it to a large bowl as you go and continue until you’ve thinly sliced the whole head.
It might feel like this step takes forever, but I PROMISE you it is worth it. Pop on a playlist with a few of your favorite tunes (or check out one of my playlists HERE 😉) and you’ll be finished before you can say “I LOVE chopping cauliflower” 😝
Once the veggies are all sliced up nice and thin, chop the parsley, shave some pecorino cheese (a Y shaped vegetable peeler like this one works GREAT for this step), and toast the walnuts.
Set aside a little bit of parsley, some walnuts, and pecorino cheese to garnish the salad just before serving.
Wait until you’re ready to serve to toss all of the cauliflower salad ingredients together. Top with reserved ingredients and DIG IN!
A few notes on the salad recipe:
- For the best all around texture, toss the dressing with the cauliflower salad just before serving. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper to taste! I have however, also eaten the leftovers the next day and the salad does hold up fairly well. The only difference is that the ingredients may soften slightly under the bold and punchy dressing.
- To make this salad in advance, simply keep the dressing and walnuts separate from the rest of the salad until ready to toss and serve.
- If you have a nut allergy substitute walnuts with toasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
- To make this recipe vegan substitute regular mayonnaise with vegan mayonnaise, and leave out the pecorino cheese (or substitute with a vegan cheese).
Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Walnuts and Pecorino Cheese {gluten free + vegetarian}
Description
This shaved cauliflower salad with walnuts and pecorino cheese might just become your new favorite salad. Made with thinly shaved cauliflower, celery, parsley, toasted walnuts, salty pecorino cheese, and a perfectly creamy white balsamic dressing. An insanely delicious and hearty vegetarian salad!
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup white balsamic (can substitute with white or red wine vinegar – these vinegars are more tart and less sweet than white balsamic, so you may end up wanting to add a little more maple syrup or honey to taste if using)
- 1/4 cup store bought or homemade avocado oil mayo
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- `1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the salad
- 1 2 lb head of cauliflower, cut into florets and very thinly sliced
- 4 stalks of celery, very thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of parsley, chopped
- 3/4 cup of walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 cup shaved pecorino (a Y shaped vegetable peeler and then crumbling with your fingers works great for this)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix dressing ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together all of the dressing ingredients, set aside.
- Thinly slice celery. Once finished, move to a large bowl.
- Cut the head of cauliflower into large florets. Then slice as thinly as possible. Patience is key here! The salad will be much yummier if all of the cauliflower is cut super thin. Add to the bowl with the thinly sliced celery.
- Toss walnuts in a small skillet toast. Cook over medium heat until fragrant and starting to brown. Keep a close eye on them as they can easily burn.
- Move to a cutting board. Allow to cool slightly before chopping. While waiting to cool chop parsley and shave pecorino cheese.
- Chop walnuts. Once walnuts are fairly cool, roughly chop.
- Garnish salad. Set a small amount of walnuts, parsley, and pecorino aside to garnish the salad.
- Toss. Just before serving toss cauliflower and celery with walnuts, parsley, shaved pecorino, and dressing.
- Season to taste. Season with salt and pepper, top with extra walnuts, parsley, pecorino, and serve!
Notes
For the best all around texture, toss the dressing with the cauliflower salad just before serving. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper to taste! I have however, also eaten the leftovers the next day and the salad does hold up fairly well. The only difference is that the ingredients may soften slightly under the bold and punchy dressing.
To make this salad in advance, simply keep the dressing and walnuts separate from the rest of the salad until ready to toss and serve.
If you have a nut allergy substitute walnuts with toasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
To make this recipe vegan substitute regular mayonnaise with vegan mayonnaise, and leave out the pecorino cheese (or substitute with a vegan cheese).
Jill G. says
OMG. If I could leave 1,000,000 stars for this recipe, I would! Since I last commented, I’ve made this cauliflower salad three times. Each time, people request the recipe. Thank you so very much for bringing this Rockcreek delicacy to the masses.
Nyssa Tanner says
Yes! Ahh, love to hear this! So happy that you love this salad remake as much as we do 🙂 There is just something about it that is irresistibly delicious. Thank you for the follow up comment, and I hope you continue to enjoy! Happy cooking! – Nyssa
Sharadawn says
Absolutely delicious!! I have been wanting to recreate Rock Creek’s insanely good cauliflower salad & this does JUST THAT. I served at family holiday party, with dressed cooked farro, pecorino, pine nuts & Calabrian chili all on the side so people could garnish per their dietary preferences. Everyone loved it and this will be in my regular rotation of ridiculously good food that happens to be EASY! I used a mandolin for cauliflower & celery. Thank you for this recipe!
Nyssa Tanner says
Yes!! Isn’t it just the best salad?! I still order it every time we eat there 🙂 So glad that you loved it and were able to serve it in a way that everyone could enjoy! A mandolin definitely makes easier work for slicing the veggies. Thanks for the thoughtful comment! – Nyssa
Judy says
I can’t wait to try this, I had this salad at Rockcreek last night, so amazing. Thank you so much!!!
Nyssa Tanner says
I hope you love this version! I instantly became obsessed with that salad the first time I tried it 🙂 You could always add farro like they do if you want!
Jade Beard says
made this for my bosses and their visiting family. WHAT A HIT. You did it again, Nyssa!! Forgot to add all 5 of the stars this recipe SO deserves!
Nyssa Tanner says
Yesss! Yay! I love that you made this recipe! I’m nothing short of obsessed with it. Cauliflower wins the day again!
Jade Beard says
made this for my bosses and their visiting family. WHAT A HIT. You did it again, Nyssa!!
Nicole says
So glad I found this recipe! Had the salad at Rock Creek on Saturday and immediately knew I had to recreate it!
Thank you!!
Nyssa Tanner says
Yess! I felt the same way after trying it the first time. Enjoy!! 🙂
Jill G says
As an avid enjoyer of the Rock Creek original, I am so excited to have found this recipe! Making it tomorrow for my bf’s bday. Wondering: what kind of white balsamic do you use?
Nyssa Tanner says
Isn’t it just the best?! So crave worthy 🙂 I switch brands a bit but one of my favorites is the “O Olive Store” brand. Colavita is another great option that most stores carry! Hope that you enjoy! – Nyssa