Cauliflower Rice

Apparently, cauliflower rice is pretty big in Paleo Land. For those of you who don't know, the paleo foods consist of lean proteins, lots of fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats. I personally don't follow the paleo diet completely, but I started looking in to paleo recipes because they are, by default, wheat and dairy free. I knew this was a way I could sort out two of the biggest no-no's in my world.

Cauliflower rice is one that's come up a few times. The Cauliflower Fried Rice looks incredible, but unfortunately it contains bacon, which is off limits. I found a recipe for a simple cauliflower rice, but it contained garlic, of course. A couple of cloves. Sad face, because that would be incredible, too.

I was serving the cauliflower rice as a bed for the Chicken Alfredo, so I wasn't too worried about over flavoring the "rice." It turned out really good. I added some chili powder to the alfredo sauce this time around. It was so, so good.

When you first rice-ify the cauliflower, it's going to look like a lot. I was tempted to only use half of it, but I noticed as it started cooking it reduced a bit. So unless you're just cooking for two, go ahead and use the whole head. It would keep well for a few days in the refrigerator, and then you have a bed for all kinds of yummy dishes. Next time I'm thinking of the Teriyaki Stir Fry.

Don't misunderstand me here. I have nothing against brown rice. Well, not much. It has a lot of calories (compared to cauliflower), but it is a clean, nutrient dense food. I just had a head of cauliflower in the refrigerator I needed to use and was looking for something a little different for dinner. It came together fairly quickly, but it is a bit messy to make. One word of advice, chop the cauliflower fairly small before putting it in the food processor.

Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
2 T. olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 tsp chicken bullion granules
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
Remove leaves and outermost part of stem from a head of cauliflower. Chop into pieces about the size of a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Working in batches, put cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower resembles rice.

Pour olive oil into a very large pan (I used a stock pot) over medium heat. Add onion, cook and stir until fragrant and soft. Add cauliflower. Mix together hot water and bullion granules, then add to cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring very frequently, until cauliflower is tender.

Serve as a side dish, or as a bed for your favorite saucy dish.