I wanted to look into a recipe like this to substitute the normal daily carbs at night a few times a week. I actually got the idea from the show Mike & Molly on Monday nights LOL….she was cooking it during the last episode and her sister and mother thought it was delicious until they found out it was Cauliflower and not mashed potatoes LOL!!! This savory cauliflower puree makes a perfect low-carb stand-in for mashed potatoes. It gets its fabulous flavor from garlic, buttermilk and a touch of butter and, best of all, it has about one-quarter of the calories of typical mashed potatoes. If you like, vary it by adding shredded low-fat cheese or chopped fresh herbs. ***See below for another alternative to cooking the cauliflower.
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower (mine was small and still made for 4 portions)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced (depending on what you like)
- 1/2 Cup of Idaho Potato Flakes (or any kind)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 Cup of Skim Milk
- 1/4 Cup of water
- 1/4 Cup of Half & Half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Snipped fresh scallions (optional)
- Parmesan Cheese (optional)
Preparation
Chop the cauliflower off of the stems. Trim as much of the stems as you possible can, leaving mostly the heads.
Add 1/4 Cup of water and minced garlic to a microwavable bowl and microwwave for 5 minutes. Check the cauliflower and if you can put a fork through it and it falls apart continue onto the next step if you can’t, microwave it for another minute.
In the same bowl add the milk, potato flakes, butter, salt & pepper, milk and half & half. (keep the water that was originally in the bowl and blend until it’s at the consitency that you like. If it’s too watery add more potato flakes if it’s too thick add more milk. Keep tasting for you taste buds, mine came out awesome!
My hubby thought they were mashed potatoes, he wanted to know what “kind” they were LOL!!! So yum! And so much more healthier! Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and scallions if you’d like, my hubby is plain so I just added them to mine!
This is hubby’s LOL…just parmesan cheese…..boring!! 🙂
I’ve also learnt how to roast the cauliflower in a way that is way easier than chopping it up while it’s raw! I found this Rachael Ray’s magazine. Preheat oven to 400F. Slice a head of cauliflower in 1/2 in pieces and lay them on a baking sheet. Try to make them as even as possible in thickness so it all cooks evenly, you don’t want it too thick because then it takes longer to cook. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Cook for 10 minutes and then flip it over and cook for another 10 min (use your judgement by the browness and the tenderness I checked it with a for half way through.
I then was able to just use a fork and break off each stem. We all know cauliflower is pretty tasteless, but I was able to add them to my potato mixture and eat some just like this!
I served it with Pork, Green Beans and Chipolte Sauce. (Coming soon).
