Cauliflower has become another key ingredient in my low carb vegetarian kitchen. After I learned I could make faux mashed potatoes with them I knew I had to get a head of them whenever I was at the grocery and keep exploring their what seems to be endless possibilities! Tonight I made Cauliflower "Steaks" over creamy, cheesy mashed faux cauliflower potatoes. I also added some sauteed spinach because A. It's delicious and B. NO one wants to eat a all beige meal.
Here are the ingredients you will need for the Cauliflower Steaks:
1 Head Cauliflower
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Garlic Powder (optional)
Italian Seasoning (optional)
Italian Bread Crumbs (to finish, optional)
Cut your Cauliflower from the Head to the stem - you want a width that is no larger then a half an inch. Put your "steaks" on a baking sheet and drizzle enough Olive Oil on them to really cover the tops of those suckers up. You don't want them sitting in a pool of EVOO just coated well. Add your seasoning.
Place on the medium rack of your oven for about 15 minutes. You want them to get brown and tender, without falling apart.
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| Your finished Cauliflower Steaks! At this point I like to sprinkle a little Italian Bread Crumbs over them. |
While they are cooking we will make the Cauliflower Faux Potatoes. These amaze me every time I make them . The key is the consistency. You don't want them too chunky, or too watery. But this happens if your blender is a cheap P.O.S like mine and you have to add extra liquid to get any movement going. Avoid making that mistake if you can by stirring in between blending. If you were lucky enough to score a fancy expensive food processor in a marriage or something, use that- and I am totally jealous of you. I want a fancy blender!
1/2 head of cauliflower (use a whole if this is your main side dish, you are feeding a lot of people or your boyfriend just broke up with you and you literally want to drown your face in a comforting bowl of mashed "fauxtatoes")
1 1/2 cup almond milk (add gradually) Skim Milk & Soy milk are also fine
Pat of butter
Salt & Pepper
Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese
Garlic (optional- minced or powder)
Splash Heavy whipping cream (for super creamy delicious fauxtatoes)
Cut your cauliflower into chunks. Add them to a steam tray in a large pot of water. Steam them in a large pot with the lid on for about 10 minutes until they are very tender.
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| Meet the Steam Basket a super handy tool in all healthy cooking. I use this most often for steaming Artichokes and Broccoli. It could most definitely come in handy some year as a Halloween helmet of some sort, so keep that in your back pocket) |
Add them to the blender carefully.
Add butter, salt, garlic powder and half your Almond milk.
Blend for a while to get things moving. Stop the blender (key step) and stir your mix.
Blend some more. If you are still in a very chunky not moving very well state add some more of your milk liquid.
Once you like your consistency, add as much cheese as you like and a splash of cream for extra richness if you like. Keep tasting and adding salt as needed.
* If you also have a POS Blender you can do this in stages. Make small amounts at a time so your blender will be less overwhelmed and can more easily blend. Once you are done with one batch put in a separate bowl and start another batch. Ugh, it's so hard being a blender....
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| Spoon your Fauxtatoes in a circular pattern on your plate. |
Very last step- SPINACH.
My spinach was super easy. Just a small pan of a little EVOO on medium heat. Spinach cooks quickly and shrivels up to nothing so remember that when you are gaging how much to cook. Toss it gently in the Olive oil until coated in the pan, add some italian seasoning, salt and pepper and put that on top of your fauxtatoes. Then you will put your golden brown Cauliflower Steaks on top of that!
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| Your finished entree! I added a bit of my favorite Balsamic Glaze over the top for a little extra flavor. |
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Enjoy!! |
