Saturday, January 22, 2011

Mashed Cauliflower

Potatoes are my vice. One aspect of the "unhealthy" eating habits I just have not been able to part with. I spent a long time perfecting and finding my perfect potato recipes. Roasted, creamy mashed, baked, ahhhhh, I love.

Well, this year's resolution was to continue on with my journey into more healthy and clean eating. So, it was time to attempt a substitute for my beloved mashed taters. I searched several recipes and finally settled on the Novice Chef's blog for her "ass-friendly" version. Her intro really made me identify with her so I thought what the heck, here we go.

Now, a few things to air out before I get into this. I have never eaten cauliflower. Veggie dip trays a plenty but only touched the broccoli and carrots. I've picked it out and avoided it at all costs. It looks like white broccoli, I love broccoli, why wouldn't I just try cauliflower? I don't know, picky eater, afraid of the unknown, whatever. With this said, I do not know what my end result taste actually resulted from. I don't know if I didn't drown out the tangy cauliflower taste (if it in fact is kinda tangy), or too much of the other ingredients I used but - this was no mashed potato sub. You can see where this post is going.

Getting personal for second: wow, my stomach did not react so hot to it either. Just fair warning, I have heard this before and I back that claim. If you plan on a date night, fair warning for a grumbly, unsettled tummy.

I'm going to post this, though I view it as a total flop for me, perhaps someone else will love it or take it on to perfect themselves!

Grocery List:
  • 10 oz. bag of frozen cauliflower
  • 1 tbsp. of Chicken Better the Boullion (I accidentally got the beef version of this for my black eyed pea soup - this time, I think it worked perfectly)
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 big pinches of asiago cheese (2 oz.)
  • 1/4 cup sour cream (recipe called for greek yogurt and I was afraid, so used SC as a sub)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Boil water and the Chicken Better than Boullion. Next add the cauliflower florets to the water on medium-high heat.


In a small food processor, combine your shallot, garlic and cheese - pulse until well blended.

Once the cauliflower is tender, drain and put the florets into a bowl. Add the ingredients from your food processor, followed by the sour cream (or greek yogurt, whichever you prefer). Using a hand mixer, beat well until smooth and creamy. You will notice the consistency is much more runny than mashed potatoes, recipe research confirmed that is normal.

Eating these plain, I would not have made it past bite 3 (take the initial bite, take the 2nd bite to evaluate and 3rd to try a final time...), however with the deliciously glazed pork tenderloin over top, it made it better.


I'm glad I went beyond my comfort zone and tried it, however I did not particularly care for it. Sweet Max Man continued to eat it, tried to offer up his compliments but I could see his longing desire for the mashed potatoes.

1 comment:

  1. Hey! So I have made mashed cauliflower before. I can't remember if I blogged about it, but I may have. Oh I did... here is my recipe: http://lindscooks.blogspot.com/2010/11/off-to-farm.html

    I advise mixing in a potato or two. Don't give them up cold turkey. Besides one or two potatos mixed won't make the meal completely unhealthy. Let me know if you try it.

    ReplyDelete

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