What is all of the excitement about rice made out of cauliflower? Has everyone lost their minds? Don’t answer that.
I decided to find out what all of the fuss and blog attention is about but I didn’t want to just steam cauliflower in small rice-like particles since that seemed a bit boring.
I decided to take the recipe that I usually use for risotto and try it with cauliflower “rice”. Since the entire cooking process would take about half the time of making risotto, I was pretty jazzed about the whole idea.
When I thought the process through, I realized that you need to have something to hold this dish together or you would just have individual grains of faux rice floating around in chicken stock. I decided to try my old standby for making a dish creamy without having to use heavy cream–half and half (I like Land O’Lakes Fat Free Half and Half) mixed with a bit of cornstarch. Perfect! Adding this to the dish at the end emulsified the whole thing together into a nice, creamy, tasty whole and with the little wild mushroom pieces peeking through, it turned out to be delicious, rich and satisfying for a chilly day. Not to mention the addition of the truffle oil from Dean and DeLuca which frankly adds a world of flavor to anything (truffle hot dogs anyone?). You don’t have to splurge on the truffle oil if you don’t have it but feel free to use it to ramp up the flavor. You can also find less expensive brands in smaller bottles if you don’t want to break the bank.
After eating a few spoonfuls of the “risotto” the whole experience reminded me of the zoodle craze. Yes, you can have your “carbs” (but not really) and eat them too because when you close your eyes and savor the cauliflower “rice” or zucchini that mimics noodles pretty well, you really don’t feel deprived or cheated out of your beloved carbs. In fact, you can almost talk yourself into a big, rich brownie afterwards (like my Chocolate Velvet Brownies) because you have been just that virtuous. Stay tuned for some zoodles this week to round out my low carb mission this week! Saving the world…..one carb at a time!
Cauliflower Rice “Risotto” with Wild Mushrooms
Cauliflower "rice" replaces the Arborio rice of traditional risotto without losing any of the richness or smoothness of regular risotto. A nice healthy side or main attraction for those that love carbs but don't want to eat them every day!
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower stem removed, broken into florets
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 large shallots finely minced
- 8 ounces fresh wild mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1/ 3 cup dried porcini mushrooms soaked in ½ cup boiling water, strained and squeezed dry, chopped and soaking water reserved
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/3 cup white wine not too dry (I used a Gewurtraminer (Riesling))
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup regular or fat free half and half
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch whisked into the half and half until there are no lumps
- 1/2 cup grated (not shredded) Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons truffle oil optional
Instructions
-
Wash and thoroughly dry cauliflower, remove all greens and roughly chop the florets.
-
In three batches, pulse the cauliflower pieces about 10-12 times until the “pearls” are of even size like rice grains and there are no large chunks remaining.
-
Transfer each batch of chopped cauliflower to a clean, dry bowl and set aside until all three batches are processed. If you have any large pieces of cauliflower left in the food processor, set them aside after each batch is finished and process all of the larger pieces at the end into the “rice” grains.
-
You can make this ahead. Just put dry paper towel on top of the bowl and refrigerate for a day. Don’t cover with plastic wrap or a lid or the “rice” will get soggy. You should have about 8 cups of “rice”.
-
When ready to make the "risotto", in a large saucepan over medium high heat, add the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter. When the butter is just melted, add the shallots, porcini mushrooms and wild mushrooms and sauté until shallots become translucent, about 3 minutes. Raise the heat to high and stirring constantly, heat the mixture until the mushrooms start to brown.
-
Add the garlic and thyme and sauté about 1 minute but do not let the garlic brown.
-
While the mushrooms and garlic are cooking, microwave the chicken stock in a heatproof glass measuring cup until it is boiling.
-
Deglaze the pan with wine and the reserved liquid from the porcini mushrooms and cook, stirring until liquid is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes.
-
Add the cauliflower "rice" and sauté for about 2 minutes.
-
Add the chicken stock and cook for 4 minutes until the cauliflower until it is just tender but not mushy. If it is too “al dente”, cook for a minute longer but keep tasting it so it does not overcook.
-
Add the half and half and cornstarch mixture and remove the pan from the heat.
-
Quickly stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired. Add the truffle oil if you are using it.
-
To serve, spoon risotto into individual serving bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.