A friend of ours *grudgingly* gets her kids and husband to eat “mommy’s rice” – cauliflower processed into rice-like grains and usually served Spanish-style with a spiced tomato sauce – every now and again.
This version, loaded with cheese and added cream and seasonings, might change their minds – tho’ Rich has told me that, yeh, he will eat it, but he was not giving up regular risotto night any time soon.
Still and all, a very tasty, and pretty simple, way to change your cauliflower from the everyday to a little sumpin’ sumpin’ special. And, since you’re using cauliflower, instead of rice, why not go ahead and use that heavy cream and real cheese?
INGREDIENTS
•1 head cauliflower, riced (about 6 cups)*
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 tbsp butter
•2 cups diced sweet onion
•1 tsp freshly minced garlic
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce
•1-1/2 cup stock
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•1 cup grated Fontina cheese
•Freshly chopped parsley
•Salt
•Pepper
•1 tsp minced basil
*To rice the cauliflower, cut into florets and pulse in a food processor fitted with the metal blade until it has been chopped into fine, rice-like pieces. You will probably need to do this in stages; my nine-cup processor bowl took three or four batches to prepare the cauliflower.
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.
Add the onion and cook until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant – about two minutes more.
Add the cauliflower rice and Sherry Peppers Sauce, tossing to coat.
Note: no Sherry Peppers Sauce? No worries! You could always add a bit of hot sauce, or white wine, or even plain ole sherry in place of the Sherry Peppers Sauce.
Stir in the stock, cover and cook until the “rice” is tender, about ten minutes.
Reduce the heat to low, then stir in the cream and the cheese, stirring until the cheese has melted and the risotto is heated through.
Taste, then season with salt and pepper as you see fit.
Stir in freshly chopped parsley and serve.
We had our risotto with pan grilled pork chops topped with melted gorgonzola, and a baked potato on the side, and I thought it all a job very well done.
And besides, Rich would never have been served regular risotto and a baked potato at the same meal, anyway.