Cauliflower Rice - Ideas?

[Paul Bacino]

So this weekend I made Cauliflower Rice --  I took just the florets of cauliflower , no stems , and processed them in a food processor

 

 

So raw,  I then added parsley, coriander, red pepper flake, salt and pepper  dressed with a lime/ vinaigrette

 

 

So this was raw..  I really like this idea.  and was wonder what other preparations I can use or you guys have done.  Raw , stir fry'd or roasted.  what ever and what other things do you add?

 

Cheers  Paul

[Franci]

Try raw puntarelle style (so dressed with anchovies pesto: anchovies, garlic, oil and vinegar).

 

Or if I stir-fry, I particularly like with shiitake mushroom and lots of parsley or the usual: tons of chopped ginger, garlic and white part of scallions (I add the green at the end), scramble eggs, fish sauce, bacon/pancetta/pork belly leftovers always welcome. Think also of a cauliflower risotto with a touch of blue cheese.

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by Franci (log)

[mgaretz]

Sauté in butter.  That can be it, or you can bump it up with crushed cashews or pistachios. 

[btbyrd]

I almost always include a huge amount of diced onion in mine and almost always sautee it briefly. If you cook it too long, it turns to mush. It's also important not to process the cauliflower too early or to cook it too far ahead of time, or else you might have a stinkbomb on your hands. It doesn't always happen, but it's sad when it does.

 

Variations include:

Dirty rice (saute some cubes of andouille sausage, cook the cauliflower in the fat, add paprika and cayenne, garnish with green onions)

Fried rice (char siu, ginger, garlic, carrot sticks, peas, garnish with green onions)

"Chipotle style" (chopped cilantro plus lime juice)

Indian style (curry or masala powder)

"Cheese Grits" (lots of butter and melty cheese)

 

 

[HungryChris]

The center core is also good sliced  about 1/8 " thick and stir fried like a bamboo shoot or pickled for sandwiches or salads.

HC 

[&roid]

I season mine with salt and Indian spices then microwave it for 90 seconds or so - perfect side dish for my fasting days on 5:2. 

[Jason Perlow]

Rachel and I do riced cauliflower a lot.

 

I would say the more seasoning the better. By itself I don't like cauliflower unseasoned, it has no character. 

 

As a base for chili

 

 

As a fried rice

 

 

Another fried rice variant

 

 

With the paella treatment

 

 

As an acompaniment to cuban dishes

 

 

With ropa vieja, a cuban beef stew

 

 

Combined with cheese and turned into pizza crusts

 

 

Fried up into Latkes

 

Baked into a Kugel, a traditional eastern european casserole normally made with potatoes.

 

 

[heidih]

Jason - on the stir fry type treatments or the paella - how do you avoid it going mushy? Any timing/technique tips or tricks?

[Jason Perlow]

Par cook as opposed to cook all the way through. We like to grate it, microwave it in a bowl for about 7 minutes. Then saute up your other ingredients with seasonings and add the rice last. 

 

David Leite's fried cauliflower recipe is what we have been using as a basis for the fried rice and paella.

 

http://leitesculinaria.com/103288/recipes-cauliflower-fried-rice.html

Edited May 6, 2016 by Jason Perlow (log)

[cakewalk]

That pizza crust looks interesting. What's the texture like? Is it just the cauliflower and cheese, or is there something else? I'm having non-gluten eaters (kids) over for lunch in a couple of weeks, that looks like a nice side dish. I made the kugel over Passover (I microwaved the cauliflower and processed it lightly with the mushrooms and onions), it went over very well. 

[Jason Perlow]

14 hours ago, cakewalk said:

That pizza crust looks interesting. What's the texture like? Is it just the cauliflower and cheese, or is there something else? I'm having non-gluten eaters (kids) over for lunch in a couple of weeks, that looks like a nice side dish. I made the kugel over Passover (I microwaved the cauliflower and processed it lightly with the mushrooms and onions), it went over very well. 

 

Not exactly "Pizza" but it was a good vehicle for toppings. there's also eggs in it. We used this recipe, without the almond flour since we didn't have any. Also used the whole cauliflower, not just the florets.

 

http://www.theluckypennyblog.com/2013/02/the-best-cauliflower-crust-pizza.html

Edited May 7, 2016 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Paul Bacino]

So..  did a rif off Serious Eats " Turkey Burger "

 

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/11/the-burger-lab-turkey-burgers-that-dont-suck.html

 

Ground drk chicken meat, roasted eggplant ( this brings great moisture to the party ), roasted garlic and onion. Maggie and Soy

 

This time I added uncooked cauliflower rice to the burger

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2016 by Paul Bacino (log)

[Smithy]

This topic has some good ideas.  I recently purchased a bag of "cauliflower rice" to try.  Last night's dinner began with a simple cooked salsa of tomatillos, red bell peppers, green onions and tomatoes, to which the cauliflower was to be added.  I ran out of steam before cooking the meat it was to accompany, so a couple of Polish sausages went into the pan at about the same time as the cauliflower.  On its own the cauliflower mix was too tart - I'd used too many tomatillos - but the Polish sausages balanced it surprisingly well.

 

Thanks to @btbyrd for the admonition not to cook the cauliflower too long.  As it came out of the bag, the cauliflower already had a pretty strong odor.  I rinsed it, and gave it just enough cooking to soften slightly.

 

 

We both liked this.  It's nice to find a low-carb alternative to rice, and I'll be experimenting with cauliflower rice more.

[gfweb]

I recently steamed then chopped cauliflower in the food processor then pan fried it to darken a lot of it up and add flavor. Salt, pepper, garlic ...squeeze of lemon...pretty nice with fish.

[Smithy]

21 minutes ago, gfweb said:

I recently steamed then chopped cauliflower in the food processor then pan fried it to darken a lot of it up and add flavor. Salt, pepper, garlic ...squeeze of lemon...pretty nice with fish.

 

How much did you steam it?  I notice that @Paul Bacino, who started this topic, begins with raw cauliflower.  @Jason Perlow refers to par-cooking it.  For the moment I'm happy letting someone else do the work, but if I really cotton to this idea I'll be taking the road less expensive and doing it myself. I tend to overcook cauliflower to the mush stage.

[gfweb]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

How much did you steam it?  I notice that @Paul Bacino, who started this topic, begins with raw cauliflower.  @Jason Perlow refers to par-cooking it.  For the moment I'm happy letting someone else do the work, but if I really cotton to this idea I'll be taking the road less expensive and doing it myself. I tend to overcook cauliflower to the mush stage.

 

I  steamed cut up chunks  till just softened.  maybe 8- 10 minutes. Some of them were in the water that was boiling.

[Duvel]

For "dough"-like applications, I'll steam for about 5-6 on full (900 W) and squeeze out the excess moisture. Anything longer seems to produce this sulfure-like off-smell ...

 

 

Strangely, baking it afterwards (and thus cooking it more) seems not to affect the smell any longer ...

 

[SLB]

I haven't loved cauliflower rice, and one thing this thread has made clear, I'm doing it wrong.  

 

I'm overprocessing the cauliflower to a pulp, and then cooking it too long (I was wondering why mine is ALWAYS yuckily mushy unless I've essentially fried it).  

 

One question -- do any of you freeze it raw after ricing it?  If so, do you blanch it all all (which I do when prepping florets for the freezer).  I confess I tried it once and it was a disaster.  But in my head, frozen un-blanched cauliflower is not a good idea.  This is possibly something I got from my grandma who died thirty years ago, but it stuck.   

 

Actually -- I have a second question -- I am stunned at how little rice you get out of a whole cauliflower (and I trim and rice the stem, too).  It seems . . . wrong or something.  Does this bother anyone else???

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, SLB said:

  

 

Actually -- I have a second question -- I am stunned at how little rice you get out of a whole cauliflower (and I trim and rice the stem, too).  It seems . . . wrong or something.  Does this bother anyone else???

 

I chop it to about a grain of rice size...maybe a bit smaller. Seems like I get a lot.

I have found that if I process t he whole thing at once the sizes range from mostly minuscule to rice-sized. By the time the last cauli is rice the first to be chopped is pulverized.

So I do it in small batches to get a uniform-ish size.

Maybe  this explains your low yield?

[SLB]

I suspect it probably does.  Thanks.

[cakewalk]

1 hour ago, SLB said:

I haven't loved cauliflower rice, and one thing this thread has made clear, I'm doing it wrong.  

 

I'm overprocessing the cauliflower to a pulp, and then cooking it too long (I was wondering why mine is ALWAYS yuckily mushy unless I've essentially fried it).  

 

One question -- do any of you freeze it raw after ricing it?  If so, do you blanch it all all (which I do when prepping florets for the freezer).  I confess I tried it once and it was a disaster.  But in my head, frozen un-blanched cauliflower is not a good idea.  This is possibly something I got from my grandma who died thirty years ago, but it stuck.   

 

Actually -- I have a second question -- I am stunned at how little rice you get out of a whole cauliflower (and I trim and rice the stem, too).  It seems . . . wrong or something.  Does this bother anyone else???

I processed and then froze a whole cauliflower before I went away on vacation last week. I'm hoping to cook some of it tonight, will let you know how it works. I've read that it freezes well, so I'll see. I like to saute some chopped onion and then add the cauliflower rice to it for a few minutes. I like it a lot, but then I like cauliflower a lot. It doesn't taste anything like rice. So if you're expecting rice, you're bound to be disappointed!

 

 I was surprised to read above that some people blanch the cauliflower first and then process it. I don't see how it could possibly retain any shape that way?

 

I also find that a head of cauliflower makes a ton of the riced stuff, but like @gfweb I do it a little at a time and stop processing when it reaches a size somewhat like rice.

[chappie]

Since May 21 of this year, I've been using the Weight Watchers app to track and plan my diet. That's another topic -- it has worked very well for me to the tune of 30 lbs. so far -- but in the process of changing the way I cook and eat and approach food in general (I still cook every night, and make things I truly enjoy), I've incorporated things like cauliflower rice with great success. Now, I buy it from Aldi in pre-riced, frozen bags, because I don't have a lot of spare time with both of us working and kids to drive here and there. But this, or a variation of this, is one of my go-to sides.

 

Cauliflower Risotto

 

• To one tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet, add two cloves crushed garlic and half an onion or so.  Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
• Once the garlic has cooked into the oil but before it browns, you can either add the frozen cauliflower (or fresh riced cauliflower if that's your method) to the pan or, first, saute a bunch of diced zucchini, then add the cauliflower.
• Another tangent here, but I use an Instant Pot to make chicken stock with rotisserie carcasses and any other chicken leftover bits I have. Once every several days, I intensify this stock by putting it back into the Instant Pot and adding the latest carcass. I do this several times over a few weeks and wind up with a super-rich, dark brown stock -- which I sometimes strengthen even further through reduction.
• See above. If you have this magic chicken demi glace, use it. If not, use the best stock you have. I add maybe a half cup of stock to the veggie/garlic/cauli pan.
• Add two wedges of Laughing Cow lite swiss (or a generic equivalent). I'm serious. This stuff contains negligible calories yet adds a ton of flavor and creaminess.
• Stir here and there with a spatula or wooden spoon, breaking up and remaining clumps of frozen cauli and dispersing the cheese product as it melts. Your veggies will have released some liquid, and if you started with a frozen ice cube of dense stock like I often do, that will have melted, too.
• The goal here is to reduce the liquid and smooth everything out to risotto consistency. Sometimes near the end I throw in a bunch of halved grape tomatoes or some frozen peas and let them all come up to temperature.
• Tinker with seasonings. I do one of these heavy on jalapeno and cumin and lots of zucchini. I do another that is very basic, creamy with peas and finished with parmesan stirred in to incorporate.

We eat variations of this several times throughout the week. I haven't usually enjoyed "fake" versions of dishes, but this can be so good it really does taste like a good risotto.