Cauliflower Cous Cous Craisin Pilaf

Cauliflower is one of those veggies I love eating, cooked or raw. But I never seem to remember to buy it, as much as I enjoy it. So I picked up a head of cauliflower the other day intent on using it in a new recipe. I found an easy sounding, one-pot recipe for Cauliflower Pilaf from Eating Well that had a combination of sweet, tangy and savory flavors. Perfect!


1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups finely chopped cauliflower florets (about 1 medium head)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup currants
2/3 cup whole-wheat couscous
1/2 cup sliced scallion greens

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cauliflower and salt; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add broth, orange zest, juice and currants; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in couscous and scallions. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can buy pre-cut and bagged cauliflower in the produce aisle. As always, I made some slight ingredient alterations but the end result was really fabulous. I didn’t have any broth, so I just used salted water. And instead of using bottled OJ, I just squeezed the juice of the orange I zested. I also replaced currants with Craisins. You could also use raisins.

I knew this dish would be a hit at home since two of Funk’s favorite foods are whole wheat couscous and Craisins, and it was! We devoured this pilaf for dinner, totally ignoring the fact that this recipe makes six servings (not three!). I enjoyed leftovers cold for lunch and it was just as tasty. Dear readers, someone please set out to make this dish ASAP and let me know how amazing you think it is, too!