The inspiration for this salad came from a salad that I’d eaten a few times at an Iranian friend’s family’s house. She referred to it as “Persian potato salad”, and there would always be a big bowl of it during any kind of celebration. Unlike the usual potato salad, this one had chicken, and it was absolutely delicious. It never crossed my mind to try making it though…that is, until I bought a bunch of cauliflower.

As we all know, everything has gotten much more expensive in the last few years. Whether you are buying groceries or eating out, everything seems to be half the size/portion and twice the price. I recently saw some organic cauliflower at Whole Foods that were the size of large oranges. I kid you not! It was so ridiculous I actually went and grabbed a big orange, placed it next to the cauliflower as comparison, and snapped a photo.

So when I found decent-sized organic cauliflower at another store for even cheaper than the normal price of the non-organic variety, I didn’t hesitate to buy 3 heads. I love cheesy cauliflower mash so much (even more so than mashed potatoes!) that I happily ate that for the next few days.

A couple days later, I saw that the cauliflower were discounted even further, and I bought another 3 heads! I would’ve been perfectly happy making more cauliflower mash (did I say I am obsessed?) but then I figured I’d get a little more creative. I remembered about the Persian potato salad and got the idea to try substituting cauliflower for the potatoes.

Upon some research, I discovered that Persian potato salad is actually known as Salad Olivieh, which is the Iranian adaptation of Olivier salad, aka Russian salad. The original version was created by Lucien Olivier, a chef and founder of the renowned Hermitage Restaurant in Moscow, in the 1860’s. The salad is apparently popular in many countries. Variations can be found throughout Europe, Turkey, Iran, many post-Soviet states, Latin America, and even the Indian subcontinent.

I wasn’t really sure how good of a potato substitute cauliflower that wasn’t mashed up with cheese was going to be. After all, it’s the cheese in cauliflower mash that helps mimic that creamy, starchy texture. So without the starchiness, how satisfying would it be? Well, I was delighted at how superbly it turned out! It was beyond my expectations and definitely love at first taste! I couldn’t stop eating it! It looks like potato salad, but more importantly, it has a surprisingly similar mouthfeel as regular potato salad. Honestly, with the chicken, pickles, seasonings and mayonnaise, you really don’t even get much of the cauliflower taste. Now, having said that, if you’re not a fan of cauliflower, or you’re just a fussy eater, you’re probably still going to prefer the real thing. But if you like using cauliflower in mashed “potatoes”, as fried “rice” or in your pizza crust, I’m going to bet that you’ll love my low-carb version of Olivier Salad.

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can easily adjust the amounts of each ingredient or customize it to your preferences. You can add in some chopped celery, ham, Dijon mustard… Instead of cooking the chicken from scratch, you can buy a rotisserie chicken and shred some of it up. Or, make a vegetarian salad and leave the meat out altogether.

Did you make this recipe?

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CAULIFLOWER OLIVIER SALAD

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into small bite-sized pieces
300g chicken breast
5 eggs, hard boiled and roughly chopped
4 savoury pickles, roughly chopped
1 carrot (or substitute with 1/2 cup frozen diced carrots, thawed)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
juice of 1 lime
1/2 – 3/4 cup mayonnaise (I use avocado oil mayonnaise)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoons psyllium husk (optional)

Method:

1. Place cauliflower (and peeled carrot, if using a fresh carrot) in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam until fork-tender (the cauliflower will cook a little faster, so it can be removed first). Set vegetables aside on a plate to cool.  

2. Poach the chicken simply by placing it in a pot, fill it with water to cover the chicken by about 1 inch, bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes (you can add salt, pepper and herbs to the water, or even poach it in chicken stock; however, I don’t think it’s necessary since the chicken will take on flavours when mixed in the salad). The chicken is done when it is no longer pink in the centre. Transfer it to a plate to cool.

3. Chop the carrot into small cubes. Shred the chicken.

4. In a large salad bowl, place cauliflower, chicken, eggs, pickles, carrots and peas. Add lime juice, mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, pepper and psyllium husk, if using (I like to add psyllium to help absorb any moisture from the cauliflower. It’s also additional fibre!). Mix well. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.

Note: Leftovers can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. Do not freeze.