So it seems to be all over social media at the moment. Cauliflower recipes. But not your usual, pop it in water and boil the life out of it recipes, but actually as a healthy replacement. The main two being a replacement for rice and pizza dough. But why?
By replacing cauliflower with rice, you simply chop the top half of the cauliflower and it... well looks like rice. Cook it for a few minutes in water and there you have it!
For replacing cauliflower with dough, you do as above but sauté the cauliflower in a pan with a little oil.
So what are the benefits?
Cauliflower has a mere 25 calories per 100 grams vs. rice that has 130 calories per 100 grams.
Pizza dough has 130 calories per 1/8 of a pizza (and let's face it, we all have more than one slice of pizza right!).
Cauliflower has 80% of your daily vitamin C requirement. Rice and dough has very little vitamins. In fact less than 10% combined.
You fulfil one of your five a day without even starting with your side dishes.
And, rice and dough tend you bloat you due to increased water retention. Plus generally just heavier on the stomach compared to cauliflower.
Are you following the new trend yet? If not, why not get started with this really simple recipe?
Serves 2-4
Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 35 mins
INGREDIENTS
•1/2 head cauliflower (about 2 cups riced)
•1 clove garlic, minced
•1 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
•1 egg, beaten
•1 teaspoon basil
•1 teaspoon oregano
•Olive Oil
INSTRUCTIONS
1.Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
2.Prep a pizza stone by with oil.
3.Remove the stems and leaves from your cauliflower and chop the florets into chunks. Add to a food processor and pulse just until the texture is similar to rice. If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater or chop it.
4.Sauté cauliflower "rice" in a non-stick pan over medium heat and cook until translucent, approximately 6-8 minutes. (You can use the microwave for this as well. Just place cauliflower in an uncovered microwave-safe bowl and cook for 8 minutes.)
5.In a bowl combine the cooked cauliflower with all remaining ingredients.
6.Spread the mixture 'dough' out evenly over foil (or stone) - about ¼ to ⅓ of an inch thick. The pizza should be about 9-10 inches in diameter.
7.Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden, crispy on the edges and cooked through the middle.
8.Remove the crust from the oven.
9.Top with pizza tomato sauce (homemade or shop bought) and toppings of your choice. Be careful not to add too many heavy toppings as you don't want to weigh down the crust as the crust is very light.
10.Grill the pizza for 5 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese (if you have cheese as a topping) is melted. Allow the pizza to cool for 2-3 minutes then cut and serve immediately.