Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Mashed Cauliflower - Revisited (sugar free • gluten free • low carb)



I actually posted my original version of this recipe HERE a while back.  And although it still turns out great this way, I have actually figured out an easier and quicker way to make it that I like even more.

Lately, more of my family members and friends are starting to eat healthier.  This is awesome because it makes it so much easier when you have other people to talk to and share food, ideas and recipes with.  One friend in particular,  actually my husbands BFF, has really jumped on the band wagon with me.  He's lost a ton of weight and is feeling so much better.  He's been making all of the meals for his wife and two children.   It's been so great, because he has started to give me some ideas and share some of his recipes with me.  He's tried quite a few of my recipes and have found ways to tweak some of them to better suit his tastes.  It's been awesome!

He took my previous mashed cauliflower recipe and ran it through his blender and skipped the baking part.  He said it looked and tasted more like real mashed potatoes.  I have been using my new immersion blender for everything, so I thought, why not try it with that?   So I did, and I LOVED the results.  They really looked and had the same consistency of mashed potatoes!  My husband really really enjoyed them, and he is usually just so-so about them.  Ofcourse the munchkin tore them up having three helpings.  I will definitely make them this way from now on.  Plus you cut out the cooking time in the oven and you get to enjoy them faster!


Mashed Cauliflower
sugar free • gluten free • low carb

Ingredients
  • 2 Large Heads of Cauliflower
  • 1/2 C Fresh Grated Cheese of choice (I like cheddar best, but you can mix them up)
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 4 Tb butter
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder (or more)
  • 1/2 tsp Onion Powder (or more)
  • 1/2 tsp parsley
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp marjoram
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp mustard
  • Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste
  • Sea Salt, to taste
The amounts for seasonings are just estimates. I just take everything and dump it in, to be honest, but this should be pretty close and you can play around with what you like)

Directions
  1. Steam Cauliflower (either in a steamer or on the stove in a large stock pot with about an inch of simmering water on the bottom of the pot) for about 25-35 minutes until they are VERY soft.
  2. Drain water in a strainer over the sink, shake to release as much water as you can.
  3. Place in large mixing bowl with cheese, cream cheese, butter and seasonings and mix until very well combined with a hand mixer. It should resemble mashed potatoes. 
  4. Once you have everything mixed pretty well, use an immersion blender and mix until everything is really creamy like mashed potatoes.
  5. Taste and add seasonings as desired.  I usually ad more salt and garlic powder.
  6. Enjoy!

4 comments:

Gina said...

Any ideas for what to sub for the cream cheese to make it dairy free?

Laura said...

Gina, you could totally try coconut milk, ghee and all of the seasonings. I bet that would be good too. Not quite the same, but I think it would still be pretty good. It's kinda a tough one to convert since there are three dairy items in it, but I think you could still get the same idea with alternatives.

Shay said...

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Starlene @ GAPS Diet Journey said...

I have a recipe for faux-tatoes at my blog which only call for butter. When we first started having faux-tatoes we used cream cheese which made them very creamy. I can tolerate butter but no longer consumer cream cheese. I have found two things are important when making faux-tatoes without the cream cheese. 1. Be sure to steam well above the level of water - boiling in water makes the cauliflower way too soggy. 2. Whip using an immersion blender until creamy. This is really important and to me they taste very much like mashed potatoes. Fat is also important to create a smooth texture - if you cannot tolerate even butter, I would try any of your favorite fats - bacon grease might be tasty.