Low Carb Side Dish: Purple Cauliflower Antipasti

Purple Cauliflower Antipasti is a low carb side dish that’s great for parties as well as weekly meal prep. Full of Healthy fats, beautiful colors and big flavor this Mediterranean inspired recipe is a must try.

Cauliflower From A Butcher Shop…Do Tell?

Funny how some recipes start. Ironically this recipe started at my local butcher shop. I was picking up my weekly stipend of carnivorous treats when I saw a beautiful head of purple cauliflower. There’s always some random local veggies at the checkout counter and I just couldn’t pass up this vibrate veggie. Especially when I found out it was only $2 bucks

Facts About Purple Cauliflower

Purple cauliflower’s color is due to the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanin, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine. The taste is the same as any other cauliflower but hey I’ll take the extra antioxidants. Since we eat with our eyes first I knew I wanted to showcase the beautiful colors. Not only of the cauliflower but all of the other veggies as well.

Purple Cauliflower Antipasti, A Rainbow of Deliciousness

I’m a big fan of antipasti salads. You get a ton of different flavors and textures collaborating to create an amazing dish. There’s really no rules to antipasti other than don’t put pasta in it…it’s in the name lol. Other then that get creative and add whatever ingredients you like. Add things like almonds or sunflower seeds for some extra crunch. Use a variety of different olives to give it a briny punch. When it comes to meats you can add fatty cuts like mortadella or salami but you can also stay on the leaner side with prosciutto or peppered ham.

Giardiniera, A crunchy spicy condiment you need to try

Giardiniera is a pickled veggie mixture consisting of cauliflower, carrots, olives and peppers. Each recipe is different and will have varying degrees of heat. I love using it as an ingredient in my antipasti as well as my Muffuletta Meatarito. You can also use the juices in place of the red wine vinegar in this recipe if you don’t want to purchase another type of vinegar. 

Putting the Antipasti together.

To assemble this purple cauliflower antipasti I like to make the dressing separately from the salad then combine afterwards. This allows me to taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning before I mix everything together. It’s ok if the flavors are a bit intense because once it’s dispersed over the salad it will level off. Veggies alone don’t bring a lot of flavor so I like my dressing to be a little salty. Feel free to adjust the recipe accordingly to meet your palate.

This recipe stores great in the fridge but I do recommend giving it a toss or stir before serving to redistribute the dressing. That way it’s the perfect balance of crunchy, salty, spicy every time. I recommend pairing this with some cold poached shrimp or fish like tuna or salmon. Grilled chicken or pork loin would also be a fine match for this recipe. 

If you want to keep this recipe dairy-free just skip the grated Pecorino. I can’t believe I’m saying this but you can also skip the cured meats to make this friendly for your vegetarian friends. That hurt me to say but I want everyone to have what the want.