Cauliflower | The Paleo Mom

Garlic and Lemon Roasted Cauliflower (21DSD-friendly!)

January 7, 2013 in Side Dishes, Veggies

Okay, admission time: cauliflower is not my favorite. When I make mashed cauliflower or cauliflower rice, I have to season heavily with herbs and spices (and fat!) to make it tasty for me. But, cauliflower is very healthy. It’s a cruciferous veggie and it’s in season right now. So, I challenged myself to make cauliflower so that it looks like cauliflower and so that I would like it. I decided to try roasting it! What a revelation! Granted, it’s still seasoned, but something about the texture of roasted cauliflower is just awesome. Plus, this is a very simple dish, which is always a bonus! Serves 5-6.

To make this autoimmune protocol-friendly, simply omit the pepper.

Ingredients:

1 large head of cauliflower
¼ cup of lard, butter, tallow or coconut oil (you could also use bacon fat and then omit the salt; I used lard).
8-10 coves fresh garlic, crushed
Zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tsp)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cracked pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 450F.
Wash cauliflower and cut into florets. You can use the stem too. Place in a casserole dish.
Melt cooking fat (either in the microwave or on the stove top). Toss with cauliflower in the casserole dish. Next toss with lemon zest, crushed garlic, salt and pepper to coat well.
Roast for 25-35 minutes (depending on how big your florets are; mine took 30 minutes), stirring once half way.
Remove from oven and toss with fresh parsley. Serve!

Tags: 21, ancestral, baked, Broccoli, broiled, Cauliflower, day, detox, dsd, easy, garlic, lard, lemon, low-carb, paleo, Paleolithic, parsley, primal, Recipe, roasted, Sugar
4 Comments »

Lemon Parsley Cauliflower “Rice”

October 17, 2012 in Side Dishes, Starchy Staples, Veggies

I have to admit that I’ve never really liked rice, not unless it was drenched in the sauce from several different Chinese food dishes from an authentic restaurant. When I first started eating low carb, I often made rice as a starch for my husband because it was so easy for me to abstain and just stick with my low-carb veggies. Now, we don’t eat rice at all except for very rare occasions when I’ll make some for my husband and kids. If a dish calls for rice (typically a stir fry or Indian-inspired dish), I make the standard paleo substitute of cauliflower rice. But, I have to admit that, unless it’s going to be drowned in sauce, I find this just as boring and bland as rice itself. At least, I used to find it boring. I started playing with flavorings for cauliflower rice to jazz it up and make it stand alone as a flavor on the plate (no sauce required!). The inspiration for this variation comes from a recipe from my old Good Housekeeping cookbook that I used to make with fish fairly often. Besides being delicious beside fish, it’s also pretty awesome beside pork. Makes 4-5 servings.

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower (4-5 cups riced)
3 Tbsp cooking fat (I like half tallow or lard and half coconut oil )
2 tsp lemon zest (approximately 1 lemon)
4 Tbsp chopped fresh pasley
1/8 tsp Salt , to taste

Trim cauliflower and place florets in a Food Processor (you may have to do this in batches). Pulse until chopped to rice grain size. Set aside.
Heat cooking fat in a large frying pan or Wok over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower to the oil and cook, stirring frequently until cauliflower is cooked al dente (about 6-8 minutes).
Stir in lemon zest, parsley and salt. Cook 1 minute. Enjoy!

Tags: ancestral, Cauliflower, Diet, lemon, low-carb, paleo, Paleolithic, parsley, primal, Recipe, rice
3 Comments »

Ginger-Garlic Cauliflower Rice

August 6, 2012 in Side Dishes, Starchy Staples, Veggies

I have to admit that I’ve never really liked rice, not unless it was drenched in the sauce from several different Chinese food dishes from an authentic restaurant. When I first started eating low carb, I often made rice as a starch for my husband because it was so easy for me to abstain and just stick with my low-carb veggies. Now, we don’t eat rice at all except for very rare occasions when I’ll make some for my husband and kids. If a dish calls for rice (typically a stir fry or Indian-inspired dish), I make the standard paleo substitute of cauliflower rice. But, I have to admit that, unless it’s going to be drowned in sauce, I find this just as boring and bland as rice itself. At least, I used to find it boring. I started playing with flavorings for cauliflower rice to jazz it up and make it stand alone as a flavor on the plate (no sauce required!). The inspiration for this variation comes from Asian flavors, almost reminiscent of sushi rice. This cauliflower rice has a mild enough flavor that it won’t compete with other flavors on your plate (so you can serve it with any variety of meats and vegetables) but all of a sudden, it isn’t just boring filler. I hope you enjoy this rice substitute as much as we do. It’s now one of our staples. Makes 4-5 servings.

Note: coconut water vinegar, which is used in this recipe, is very similar in flavor to rice vinegar (you could substitute apple cider vinegar, but it wouldn’t quite taste the same), so it’s fabulous for replicating Asian flavors. Coconut Secret brand is available at Whole Foods and Amazon and Tropical Traditions also sells it.

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower (4-5 cups riced)
3 Tbsp tallow (or substitute lard, coconut oil or Unsalted Butter)
4-5 slices of Fresh Ginger (~1” diameter and 1/8” thick)
3 cloves Fresh Garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp Coconut Vinegar
1 Tbsp chives, chopped (or use a good quality Dried Chives)
1/8 tsp Salt, to taste

1.    Trim cauliflower and place florets in a Food Processor (you may have to do this in batches). Pulse until chopped to rice grain size. Set aside.
2.    Heat tallow and ginger slices in a large frying pan or Wok over medium-high heat until fragrant and ginger has browned.
3.    Remove ginger slices. Add cauliflower and garlic to the oil and cook, stirring frequently until cauliflower is cooked al dente (about 7-8 minutes).
4.    Stir in vinegar, chives and salt. Enjoy!

Tags: ancestral, asian, Cauliflower, cruciferous, Diet, garlic, ginger, How To, low-carb, paleo, Paleolithic, primal, Recipe, rice
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Moroccan-Inspired Cauliflower “Couscous” Salad

July 30, 2012 in Hot Salads, Salads, Starchy Staples

This sweeter side salad was a bit of an accident. I was looking for a recipe in one of my old cookbooks for Moroccan Couscous with the idea of creating a paleo adaptation. It has been many years since I last made this dish, so I didn’t notice right away that I was working from the wrong recipe. Instead, I was adapting a recipe for a nutty couscous salad, which did use many of the same ingredients. I discovered my error half way through and decided to combine the flavors from both recipes into this dish. My husband and kids devoured it. This flavorful salad is delicious warm or cold (we all preferred it cold) and is absolutely perfect beside lamb (but would be great beside beef or chicken too). This would also be a great choice to bring to a potluck. For our meals, I paired this salad with a bitter green (like kale or collards) to balance out the sweetness. Yields 5-6 servings.

This recipe uses candied ginger. I make my own honey-candied ginger, which is really easy. You could also buy the candied ginger from Trader Joe’s (which has no sugar crystal coating) or simply wipe the sugar coating off of your favorite organic candied/crystallized ginger. Another option would be to substitute with 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger.

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower (4-5 cups after being processed)
1/3 cup Medjool Dates, pitted and chopped (about 4 dates)
½ cup Raisins
2 Tbsp chopped crystallized ginger
¾ cups whole cashews (raw or Roasted Unsalted)
1 bunch parsley (1 cup chopped)
1 large orange (about 2 Tbsp zest and ½ cup juice)
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ tsp Salt
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp Turmeric
½ tsp Ground Cumin Seed

1.    Pulse cauliflower florets and stems in a Food Processor until it resembles small rice grains or large couscous grains (depending on your food processor, you might want to do this in batches). Note that this does not work very well with frozen cauliflower.
2.    Chop dates, parsley, and candied ginger and set aside. Zest the orange peel with a small zester or box grater and juice the orange.
3.    Heat coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower with salt, cinnamon, turmeric and cumin. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower is cooked al dente, about 6-7 minutes.
4.    Remove from heat and pour cauliflower into a large bowl.
5.    Stir in raisins, dates, ginger, cashews, orange zest and parsley until combined. Pour orange juice and vinegar over the top and stir to coat.
6.    Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving (this is one of those salads that tastes even better the next day).
7.    Enjoy!