I picked up a head of cauliflower at the grocery store today because I've been doing the low-carb thing and cauliflower features very heavy in many swap outs.
But thing thing is; I don't cook with cauliflower. Ever. Legit. I tried it once. Back in 2011. Didn't much care for it, but I also hated all vegetables back then. Hated broccoli with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns and then tonight my side with dinner was just an entire 1lb bag of frozen broccoli florets that I sauted up with a knob of butter and some garlic. And happily plowed through the entire pile.
Anyway, so I figured it's time to give cauliflower another shot. What are your guys' favorite ways to use it, and what does it do best at 'replacing'? I've heard of the rice, mashed potatoes, and pizza crust applications. Are there any others?
How do you COOK with cauliflower? What kind of texture does it even have? Is it like a head of broccoli? Because it looks like zombie broccoli.
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I love all vegetables including cauliflower and I usually eat it the way you prepared your broccoli. However, if you are looking to dress it up a bit, google "low carb cauliflower recipes" and you will find more ideas than you can handle. There has to be something there that you like. If you normally don't like vegetables, start out small. Eating a ton of them right off the bat will turn you off in a nano second. But once you get a taste for them I think you will love these healthy, low carb, low calories wonders!
Lay the florets on an aluminum foiled cookie sheet, mist with olive oil, whatever spices you like (I use salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper) and roast at 350* for 20 min then turn and do another 10 or until they are golden brown and crispy.
2 other ways I like it (besides roasted):
Alfredo Sauce - sauté 1/4 diced onion in 1/2 T olive oil in sauce pan, add 1 cup chicken stock, 1/2 t mustard powder, a dash of pepper and 1/2 a chopped raw cauliflower, boil until cauliflower is soft, purée in blender, return to saucepan, add 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and heat - then pour over cooked noodles, a chicken breast, spiralized zucchini, vegetables, beef and mushrooms, or anything else you would cover with Alfredo sauce.
Cauliflower pizza - turn cauliflower into crumbs in food processor, cook in microwave for 2 minutes, cool, squeeze out juice with kitchen towel, place pulp in mixing bowl, add one egg and some dried herbs (oregano, parsley, thyme), season with salt and pepper, shape into crust (I like to use cast iron pan or pizza stone), bake at 425 F for 10 minutes - add toppings and cook 5-10 minutes more.
One of my favorites are "buffalo wing" bites. Spread wing sauce over cauliflower florets and roast until soft. The sauce I found was in Asian aisle of super market & was low in carbs/sugar & tastes great.
Oh my god. These are such great suggestions! I plucked up my courage, took Wannabehealthy's advice of just googling, and found a bacon cheddar cauliflower chowder that I had everything already on hand for. It is BOMB. I halved the recipe in case I ended up with something I didn't like, but damn I should have just doubled it! This is the tastiest soup. Oh gosh. If everything else I try ends up this successful, I'll definitely be a cauliflower convert! =D
Cauliflower - What do?
