Low-carb folks (and everyone else!) please share your favorite CAULIFLOWER recipes!
Thanks.
Cauliflower as part of a pan of roasted vegetables. Coat the vegetable pieces with some oil that has herbs and spices mixed in. Ground ginger, turmeric, and crushed garlic are nice in the oil, or whatever. Line a pan with parchment and cook the vegetables in it in the oven. Other vegetables might include onion chunks, carrots, … I forget, put what you want.
Oh, some salt and pepper of course.
Cauliflower “rice” is great at fulfilling the same role in dishes that normally require rice–you’ll have to make a few adjustments depending. You can buy it riced, or do it yourself with a grater. Pre-riced cauli will go off faster than a head of cauliflower.
I find that leftover cauli rice can get an off flavor fairly quickly though. For Chinese or “Chinese” dishes I’ll usually sautee it in a light oil with some grated ginger and a little sesame oil added at the end. Maybe a dab of fish sauce.
In a very different direction, one of my favorite pasta recipes is really a variation on puttanesca, and I’ve just tried it on roast cauliflower a couple times. Like you I’m trying to avoid carbs.
I’m afraid the recipe is imprecise, but:
1 head cauliflower
1 can anchovies
3-4 cloves garlic depending on size, chopped
red pepper flakes to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
white vermouth or white wine–maybe 1/3 cup?
pitted olives, about 20, kalamata or oil cured (or green maybe?), chopped fine
Sun-dried tomatoes preserved in oil, 3-4 tablespoons, chopped fine
Capers (if you like them), about 2 tablespoons, roughly chopped
Baby arugula
Cut the cauli into florets about twice bite size. toss with olive oil and roast in oven to desired tenderness, or in pan on stove where you can test doneness with a fork. Set aside if sauce isn’t done but DON’T cover, you don’t want them getting mushy. They should have some bite to them–firm but with visible browning.
Sauce: Use a large pan with high sides that can accommodate all the cauliflower (perhaps the same pan you roasted the cauliflower in). Crack the anchovy tin and pour the oil in. Heat moderately. dump in the anchovies and cook over medium heat, stirring to break them up, until dissolved.
Add pepper flakes and garlic and cook until garlic is yellow/golden. add tomatoes and olives, stir to combine.
Add lemon juice and vermouth. This is when the splattering may happen so be prepared and stir vigorously if necessary. Add capers.
Let sauce cook for a bit to blend flavors and thicken. Turn up heat and add cauliflower chunks, cook together until cauli is coated with sauce and warmed up if that is necessary.
Serve on a bed of arugula.
Buon gusto.
I dined with a vegan friend, and she served pseudo chicken wings made of cauliflower. They were delicious.
Don’t have the recipe, but a search may find one.
I found this one,
Toast 1 tbs coriander, 2 tbs cumin, 2 tbs coriander, 1 tbs turmeric, 1tsp cayenne or 5-6 dried chilles, 1tsp ground ginger, 1tsp ground fennel seed, 1 tsp paprika (not smoked), 1/2 tsp fenugreek, 1/2 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp mustard, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp cloves all together in a dry pan until the mix starts to give off its oils and darken. Grind to a uniform powder (I use a mortar for this). Add this to 1/4 cup olive oil. Take a head of cauliflower, break into florets, toss in the spice oil, season with salt, and roast in a pan until tender (around 30 minutes). About halfway through, add a handful of slivered almonds, and toss to mix. A scant handful of sultanas tossed in around 3 minutes before the end is nice, too - even better if you’ve soaked the sultanas beforehand. Odd as it sounds, I like soaking them in masala chai.
Drizzle the cauliflower with a little verjuice (or lemon juice if you don’t have verjuice) just before serving. Serve warm.
Jus aux vers? (Worm juice?) Or what is verjuice?
Not, vert jus - green grape juice.
Pureed cauliflower is an easy and delicious substitute for mashed potatoes.
Just steam the cauliflower using a can of chicken stock. When it’s good and tender, throw the cauliflower and about a cup of the hot chicken stock into a blender and puree it (be sure to hold the lid of the blender on using a bar towel while the blender is running, otherwise you might end up with cauliflower on your ceiling). Salt and pepper to taste.
We love this recipe. Quick and delicious. Especially with ham.
Cut into bite-size pieces, put in a big plastic bag, and shake it with oil, salt, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Pour onto a cookie sheet and roast at 400F for 30-40 minutes. Delicious; like the Shake 'n Bake potatoes my mom used to make.
“Soft and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside these cauliflower buffalo “wings” are so close to the real deal it’s hard to believe!”
Yeah, not really. Had some of these just last week at a Vegan restaurant and they are exactly like roasted cauliflower in wing sauce. Since most wing sauces are filled with sugar, not really a low carb option. They weren’t bad, I guess, but I got sick of them pretty quick.
Whenever I’ve tried them as a mashed potato substitute, they’ve been way too watery, so if you try that it’s something to watch for.
I like simple roasted cauliflower recipes like
French roasted with thyme
or
Parmesan roasted
Cauliflower soup!
Cauliflower pizza crust is good, though definitely labor intensive in my experience (this may depend on the recipe).
Thesecauliflower tacos are beyond amazing.
You can use corn tortillas if you want to avoid flour. Or skip them altogether and just make taco bowls.
Two things…: 1)do not skip the romesco, 2)Do add some good guac.
A side of quinoa made with chicken or vegetable stock would round out a great dinner meal.
Another puree recipe: fry the florets in butter until slightly browned for flavour, then add enough milk to steam in a lidded pan, then blend with salt and white pepper.
What kind of wing sauces are you getting wherever you’re at? Typically, a wing sauce is Frank’s Red Hot (no sugar) and butter or margarine (also no sugar.) Even Frank’s pre-made wing sauce is sugarless. Now I have no doubt there are wing sauces where sugar is added to temper the vinegar sting of Buffalo sauce, but most I’ve had at the wing places I frequent don’t seem to have much, if any, sugar in their Buffalo-style sauce. It’s just searing vinegar sauce that attacks you like mustard gas.
I think he means non hot sauces like hawaiian teriyaki/asian, sweet and spicy garlic, honey bbq, etc…
I prefer dry rub wings, myself.
Ah, yes, those are sticky sweet. The recipe just linked to a standard style Buffalo sauce, hence my confusion.
Do you - or anyone else here - have a recipe or pointers? I had this as a kid but have been unable to recreate it.