Roasted Cauliflower, French Lentils and Mixed Greens for Full GAPS

Roasted cauliflower and shallots give this lentil salad browned edges and warm spice, while mixed greens, lemon and olive oil keep the finished bowl fresh. Give the roasted vegetables twenty minutes to cool before tossing them with the leaves so the greens stay fresh.

The lentils need a longer head start. Use the separate soaked and sprouted lentil preparation, then cook the prepared lentils until completely soft. Measure two cups after cooking and draining. This adaptation of Carrie Korem’s roasted cauliflower and lentil salad keeps her vegetable, spice and dressing measures, with the full lentil preparation completed ahead.

Jump to the Recipe

Start With Prepared, Cooked Lentils

Use whole French green lentils suitable for sprouting. Follow the linked preparation through its soak, rinsing and sprouting stages. The twelve-hour soak is only the beginning; allow roughly another one to two days for short, visible shoots about ¼ inch long or longer.

After the sprouts are ready, rinse and drain them. Put them into a pot with plenty of fresh water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until completely soft. Check a cooked lentil through its center. It should have no firm, chalky middle. Drain well, cool and measure two cooked cups for the salad.

The ingredient here is two cups of cooked lentils, not two dry cups or two cups measured straight from the sprouting jar. The preparation recipe’s starting batch and this salad’s finished measure are different measuring points. Keep any extra cooked lentils separate for another meal.

What Goes in the Roasting Dish

• ½ head cauliflower: Cut into bite-size florets of similar size.
• 4 shallots: Peel and slice them so they can roast with the cauliflower.
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin: Use plain ground cumin.
• ¾ teaspoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon curry powder: Read both ingredient lists. Choose only permitted spices, without added sugar, starch or fillers.
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder: Use plain garlic powder, rather than garlic salt.
• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt: This measured teaspoon seasons the roasting vegetables; any final salad salt is added to taste.
• 2 tablespoons melted homemade ghee: Measure the finished fat and melt it enough to coat the vegetables.

Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the middle. Set out a mixing bowl, a ceramic or stainless-steel baking dish and a spatula. You will also need a knife, cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, and a citrus juicer or reamer for the dressing.

Have the Salad Ingredients Ready

Along with the two cooked cups of lentils, measure five ounces of mixed greens, such as spinach and baby greens. Use clean, dry leaves. Have the juice from half a lemon, two tablespoons olive oil, and Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for the final seasoning.

The olive oil goes into the finished salad. The ghee goes into the roasting dish. Keeping those two measured fats with their own steps makes it easier to follow the recipe without accidentally adding both to the vegetables.

Roast, Cool and Toss

1. Coat the vegetables. Toss the cauliflower and sliced shallots with the cumin, chili powder, curry powder, garlic powder, measured teaspoon salt and melted ghee. Spread them evenly in the baking dish rather than leaving a deep pile.
2. Roast and turn. Roast for ten minutes. Use the spatula to turn and move the vegetables, then roast about ten minutes more. Look for golden edges and tender florets. A fork should enter a thicker piece easily.
3. Cool for twenty minutes. Take the dish out of the oven and let the vegetables cool before they meet the mixed greens. Hot cauliflower would wilt the leaves as soon as you tossed the bowl.
4. Combine and dress. Put the cooled roasted vegetables, two cups cooked lentils and five ounces greens in a large salad bowl. Add the juice of half a lemon and two tablespoons olive oil. Lift and turn the mixture about fifteen times, bringing the ingredients up from the bottom.
5. Season and serve. Taste the combined salad, then add salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Serve immediately after tossing.

Timing and Serving Size

The forty-five-minute estimate starts with prepared, cooked lentils: five minutes preparation, twenty minutes roasting and twenty minutes cooling. The card’s Cooling field is for the vegetables, not the lentil soak. Peeling shallots, cutting cauliflower or cooking lentils from the preparation stage can require more time.

The measured salad makes six side servings. At 2×, use one head cauliflower, eight shallots, two teaspoons cumin, 1½ teaspoons chili powder, two teaspoons each curry and garlic powders, two teaspoons roasting salt, four tablespoons ghee, four cooked cups lentils, ten ounces greens, the juice of one lemon and four tablespoons olive oil. Finish with salt and pepper to taste. Use enough baking-dish space; doubling the ingredients does not mean doubling the roast time.

Where It Fits on GAPS

This is a later Full GAPS salad after lentils and raw greens have been introduced and diarrhea and other digestive symptoms have cleared completely. The lentils are soaked, rinsed, sprouted and then thoroughly cooked. The raw leaves also need to be an established food. This finished bowl is not an early Intro recipe.

Use the pure spices and prepared ingredients described here. Ghee comes from butter, so this version contains dairy-derived fat.

For another vegetable side, try roasted butternut squash with goat cheese and prepared pecans. My planned Full GAPS Cookbook brings recipes like these together; follow the WFLI shop for its release.

Advance Preparation and Leftovers

Keep the cooked lentils, roasted vegetables, greens and dressing ingredients separate if you are preparing them ahead. Refrigerate the cooked components promptly in shallow covered containers. Combine only the amount you plan to serve so the remaining leaves stay undressed.

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking or serving, or one hour if the room is hotter than 90°F. Use refrigerated cooked lentils and vegetables within three to four days. The dressed leaves soften, so this salad is at its best when freshly tossed. Keep the cooked components’ original preparation dates in mind when combining them; making the salad does not start their storage time over.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a twelve-hour soak enough preparation?

This version follows soaking with sprouting, then thorough cooking. Use the linked preparation through its visible-sprout endpoint before cooking the lentils. A soak alone does not complete those steps.

Do I use the whole batch from the sprouting recipe?

Cook and drain it first, then measure two cups for this salad. Do not substitute its dry starting measure or the swollen volume in the jar for that cooked measure.

Why keep the olive oil out of the oven?

The ghee coats the roasting vegetables. The measured olive oil belongs with the lemon juice when the cooled salad is tossed.

Can I skip cooling the cauliflower?

Give it the twenty-minute cooling period. The mixed greens go in afterward so the leaves do not wilt against freshly roasted vegetables.

Should the lentils be firm enough for a salad?

They should be completely soft through the center. Drain them well and lift the salad gently as you toss, rather than leaving them undercooked to hold their shape.