The Potato Replacement

Stock Photo by Simon Howden

Life without carbs is tough, friends.  I never realized how much comfort I found in a piece of crusty artisan bread or a side of perfectly roasted baby red potatoes.  You can understand my joy, then, when I found that cauliflower truly can be transformed into a potato-like replacement.  Here's the way to do it, recipes that will give you either a mock mashed potatoes or deliciously creamy cauli soup.  

These pretty much start out the same.  The only difference is how you puree them.  So, here are the first steps, no matter which recipe you'd like to try:

1.  Core your cauliflower, then cut it into small pieces, getting rid of some of the larger, denser stems.  This doesn't have to be perfect.  

2.  Boil two cups of chicken stock.  Really, any stock will do.  This is key, though.  No stock=no flavor.

3.  Mince 2-3 (more, if you like tons of garlic) cloves of garlic and throw it in the stock.  

4.  Put your cauliflower in.  Hopefully it'll be just covered, but you can add a little water (or more stock) if you need to.  

5.  Cover and boil until cauli is soft, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Now, here's where you choose which direction you'd like to go.  First, for the mashed version:

1.  Strain your cauliflower (with the garlic, if possible), reserving your stock.  Place the cauli on paper towels to drain well.

2.  In a food processor or blender, throw in your soft cauliflower.  Add a few tablespoons of sour cream (or cream cheese), a bit of butter, some salt, more garlic if needed, and whatever else you like in your mashed potatoes.

3.  Process, adding in a tiny tiny bit of the stock if needed.  Be careful, though -- it gets runny quickly.

4.  Taste and add more salt, a bit of pepper, and anything else to taste.

5.  Process, process, process -- it needs to be smooth.  A bit of graininess ruins it.

5.  Serve!  Garnish with chives.

Cauliflower Soup

1.  Scoop cauliflower into food processor or blender.  Add a few T of sour cream, a few T of butter, salt, a pinch of cayenne, a bigger pinch of smoked paprika, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg (optional, of course).

2.  Process, adding more stock as you go until it's a consistency you like.  I ended up pouring in all my stock.  

3.  Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

4.  Enjoy!

Seriously, this was one of the most comforting meals I've had, and just so you know it's not me thinking this is great, my picky husband loved the soup!  And since you're not doing the diet, you could add some cheese and really wow your family.