Older Bolder Life

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cauliflower rice

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Monday: Garlic Bomb Cauliflower Rice

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Of all the cauliflower rice recipes we’ve cooked over the years (they’re all listed here), this Garlic Bomb Cauliflower Rice recipe is hands down my lovely wife’s current favorite.

The biggest complaint about the recipe she’s had lately is that the single/standard recipe probably actually doesn’t make enough for us both to enjoy, and unless I’m really quick on my feet, she’s been beating me back to the skillet to scoop up whatever’s left every single time.

The 10-12 garlic cloves sounds like a lot, but once you’ve converted those thin slices into crispy little garlic chips (which is shockingly easy by the way), you’ll be looking for more, and like us, probably planning to slice up an extra clove or two for the next batch.

And I suppose while not absolutely essential, the thinly sliced green onions and chopped cilantro or basil (we lean to the cilantro version, and feel free to try any herb that suits your fancy here) really make the dish. As we’re typically serving this with a separate protein, I most often don’t throw in the egg, though it does add taste and texture, and makes the dish much more “fried rice like”.

Finally, if you occasionally enjoy white rice in your food plan, cooking and cooling a batch of rice (playing the resistant starch game) and then frying it up via this recipe will be doubly delicious, as it’ll be much easier to crisp up the traditional rice…

1 medium cauliflower or approximately 1 pound pre-riced cauliflower
10-12 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp avocado oil
2-3 inch piece of ginger, peeled, trimmed, finely chopped
2-3 tsp toasted sesame oil
4-5 green onions, thinly sliced on a steep diagonal
1/2 to 1 cup cilantro (or basil) coarsely chopped
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Optional
1 large egg, beaten to blend
2-3 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Prep and rice the medium cauliflower if using. Preheat 2 tbsp of avocado oil in a large skillet, then sauté the fresh or frozen cauliflower over medium heat until it begins to release some of its liquid. Remove to a (paper) towel-lined bowl and set aside.

Heat the 1/3 cup of oil over medium heat in the same skillet (wipe to remove any moisture), then add the sliced garlic in a single layer, and cook, shaking the pan now and again, until the garlic is crispy and beginning to develop a golden color (5-6 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the garlic to a a paper towel-lined plate to drain, season with salt and a grind of fresh ground pepper.

Up the heat to medium-high, add the ginger and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and just beginning to soften. If using the egg, and stir quickly to break it up – this will take just a few seconds.

Now add the cauliflower and sesame oil and smooth it into an even layer; let it cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes until it begins to crisp and brown around a few of the edges. Now toss the rice, pat down smooth, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir in half the garlic chips and the green onions. You can either transfer to a platter or finish in the skillet – artfully top with the rest of the garlic chips, the sesame seeds if using, and the cilantro.

Go to it, and enjoy. (You’ll shortly be wishing you’d doubled this recipe).

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday: Cauliflower Rice Tabbouleh

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Here’s another great summer and early fall side bursting with flavor, featuring some of the best fresh produce (late summer tomatoes and cucumbers), and as an added bonus this dish is best served chilled (it still scorching hot here in North Texas these days).

And while it’s a piece of cake to make riced cauliflower at home (hello box grater or food processor), of late given a crazy August schedule we’ve taken to using the organic pre-riced cauliflower available via Costco. It’s been consistent, affordable, delicious – and time-saving.

It is of course critical that you use the freshest herbs and vegetables that you can get your hands on for this one, and we think it’s unquestionably better with a handful of toasted/roasted pine nuts and a handful of a good crumbled feta thrown in at the last minute before serving.

1 medium head cauliflower OR
1 pound bag of pre-riced cauliflower

5 tbsp good EVOO, divided
1 tsp good salt (+ more to taste), divided
2 cups flat leaf parsley (included tender stems)
1 cup mint leaves
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3-4 green onions, pale-green and white parts only
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp grated fresh lemon zest
1/4 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 medium cucumber (or more), peeled, cut into 1/4-inch dice
6-8 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered

Optional
1/4 to 1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup nicoise or kalamata olives, chopped

If using fresh cauliflower, grate it using the largest holes on a box grater, then microwave or sauté with 1 tbsp of oil and 1/2 tsp of salt until just tender (3 minutes or so). Spread to cool on a large platter or baking sheet.

Coarsely chop the parsley, mint, green onions, and lemon zest (food processor or by hand if your knife skills are sharp), then combine in a bowl with the lemon juice, the remaining 1/4 cup EVOO, and the remaining salt.

Now stir in the cauliflower rice until well mixed, then gently fold in the cucumber, tomatoes, feta, nuts, and olives if using. Adjust for salt, and go to it.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday: Chile Peanut Cauliflower Rice

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Like many of you, we’ve been enjoying a variety of spiced-up, tasty and delicious cauliflower rice (or riced cauliflower if you prefer) dishes on our ancestral food journey.

I have to be brutally honest, I’ve been a big fan of rice of all shapes and sizes since a young child, perhaps related to my parents growing in rice country along the Texas coast, and missed rice dearly in the first months of transitioning away from grains.

We were in fact somewhat late to jump on the cauliflower rice bandwagon – it made me miss the “real thing” at first – though with the wonderful preps we’ve been cooking of late, honestly we find cauliflower rice dishes to be as good or better than actual rice these days. Right now our favorites include these recipes: Asian Fried Cauliflower Rice, Crispy Verde Cauliflower Rice, and this Ginger Pecan Cauliflower Rice.

That said, when this version of the traditional Indian recipe for this dish showed up in Bon Appetit’s feed, I set out to adapt it to a cauliflower rice version. Of note, we’ve done it with both the traditional curry leaves as well as substituting fresh basil and lime zest for the curry leaves and like the basil/lime zest version better. By the way, if you enjoy food and cooking videos, the video of Priya Krishna cooking the traditional version at the Bon Appetit link above is very well done, and she is simply a delight.

And like all recipes, sometimes you simply have to change things up to fit what’s in the fridge or pantry; you’ll note in the pictures there aren’t any serranos, but instead half ring slices of green jalapeños (they were delicious by the way), as that’s all I had in the fridge last week.

This one is easy-peasy with a great tasting, high-presentation value result.

1 pound bag frozen cauliflower rice (about 5 cups)
1 tbsp ghee, butter, or oil of choice

4 tbsp fresh lime juice (2 limes)
2 tsp good salt
1/2 cup ghee, divided
1 and 1/2 tbsp black mustard seeds
14 fresh curry leaves OR
Zest of one lime + 10-12 basil leaves, chopped
1 cup roasted peanuts
1 large onion, sliced into strips
3 serrano chiles, halved lengthwise
3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro (w/ tender stems)

Heat the frozen cauliflower rice until dried and it just begins to caramelize at the edges a little; remove to a bowl.

Heat 1/4 cup ghee, then sauté mustard seeds until they begin to pop, remove from heat and stir in curry leaves until they’re coated with ghee (leaves will pop and crisp); if using the basil and lime zest instead of the curry leaves, don’t add them yet.

Return pan to medium-low heat and add peanuts; cook until medium brown and fragrant, stirring frequently (6-8 minutes), then pour over the cauliflower rice in the bowl. Add the lime zest and basil to the bowl if using to replace the curry leaves. Add the lime juice.

In same pan heat the remaining ghee, add the sliced onions and chiles, and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring now and again, until the onions begin to caramelize. Stir onions and peppers into the cauliflower rice mixture, taste and adjust for for salt, lime, and basil (if using).

Top with chopped cilantro just before serving.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday: Crispy Verde Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

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We’ve come to really enjoy deeply and creatively flavored cauliflower rice this year, like this Ginger Pecan Cauliflower Rice Pilaf or this Asian Fried Cauliflower Rice. Buying pre-riced, frozen cauliflower makes it even easier, and there are several organic brands widely available (I’ve been buying of late from Costco) which are consistently good and quite tasty.

When a version of this Crispy Verde Cauliflower Rice Pilaf showed up in my feed from Bon Appetit recently, I wondered if there was a way to get riced cauliflower crispy, and set to experimenting a bit (and pestering my friend Chef Libby in Austin). As you cauliflower rice fans know, it does tend to release moisture when cooking, and if you’re not attentive to time and heat, can make your cauliflower rice dish seem a bit soggy.

The trick is to sauté this cauliflower prep twice, once to dry it out a bit, then you rest it on a paper towel-lined plate before crisping it in oil a second time.

This recipe is wonderfully tasty, given the multiple herbs and peppers called for in the sauce; use any combination of green herbs you care too. We’re big cilantro fans, so I skewed this recipe that way, and be generous with the serranos too – the sauce may taste too spicy at first when tasting it alone, but the cauliflower really mellows out the final flavors, as do the two different peas and the green onions.

Note the source recipe used a couple of tablespoons of miso; if you’re avoiding soy, use your favorite umami-rich substitute (I usually reach for tamari, coconut aminos, or tahini). Chef Libby argues that white miso’s taste is so unique, it’s hard to sub, and it does contribute to the final flavors…

Finally, the roasted pistachios add a flavor and texture you don’t often come across, and good feta is always tasty. Don’t be put off by a long set of instructions below, this one’s pretty easy and actually comes together pretty quickly. And wow, this one’s very good.

1 pound bag frozen riced cauliflower OR 1 medium cauliflower, riced

1/2 cup raw pistachios

2 cups cilantro (see note)
1 cup basil leaves
1 cup mint and/or dill
2-4 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, roughly chopped
1/3 cup + 3 tbsp avocado or EV olive oil
Juice of 2 fresh limes (1/4 cup)
2 tbsp white miso or your sub of choice
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp good salt

3/4 cup good feta, crumbled
6-8 ounces sugar snap peas, thinly sliced on diagonal
4-5 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
1/3 to 1/2 cup golden raisins (optional, see note)

1 cup fresh shelled or frozen peas (optional)
Additional good salt to taste

Fire the oven to 350 and toast the pistachios until nicely browned (5-7 minutes); cool, then roughly chop.

Now sauté the cauliflower in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You’re not trying to brown it here, you’re cooking off some of the water in the cauliflower to dry it a bit. Remove to paper towel lined plate when the skillet dries out 7 or 8 minutes in.

Meanwhile, into the blender go the herbs, the chiles, 1/3 cup of your oil of choice, the lime juice, white miso (or sub of choice), water, and salt. Blend until smooth, and taste for salt and heat. You want this herb mixture to be spicy; the cauliflower tones it down, so you may need another pepper (or two).

Now wipe your skillet clean, add 2-3 tbsp of oil, and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the cauliflower back to the skillet, smoothing it out in a single layer and compressing a bit with a spatula. You’re goal is to crisp and brown the cauliflower here; after a minute or two turn the heat down to medium and DON’T stir for 6-8 minutes until it’s browning and getting crispy.

During the sauté process above, into a clean bowl go the sliced sugar snap peas and green onions (thinly sliced on a diagonal), the crumbled feta, the raisins if using, and the pistachios; toss gently to combine.

When the riced cauliflower is beginning to brown and crisp, add the peas, and cook for another couple of minutes until the peas are just tender.

Finally, stir the cauliflower rice into the vegetable and cheese mixture, stir in the herb drizzle, and toss to combine.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Veg Wednesday: Asian Fried Cauliflower Rice

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Count me among those who considered rice a staple growing up; around our household it was white rice. My grandmother made a wonderful rice pilaf and Cajun-styled dirty rice, and ever since I tasted a Tex-Mex inspired spanish rice at an elementary school “girlfriend’s” family ranch party in the pasture (replete with a plywood wooden dance floor and two crusty old fiddlers), we’ve been making that same Tex-Mex rice at home.

I should note that rice was a staple up until about four years ago.

Going full on Primal/paleo back then, rice was interestingly one of standby carbs that I initially missed the most. Like most of you, those cravings fairly quickly subsided, and having been eating keto now for just about a full year, the thought of eating conventional white rice hasn’t ventured anywhere near our menu plan in quite a while.

Admittedly we were a little slow to warm up to the cauliflower rice movement, though after some cajoling and coaching from our friend Chef Libby in Austin, and playing around with some better recipes and techniques, we’re now zealots for a well-spiced, flavorful cauliflower rice dish.

There are host of great recipes out there, and this Asian Fried Cauliflower Rice version is an amalgam of some of our favorites, and pulls in some of the defining features of the Americanized-version of fried rice that many of us have enjoyed at Chinese eateries over the years (like a bit of diced carrot, and peas), though packs in much more flavor and spice, including using a generous handful of fresh herbs. (I like this one with a big dollop of sriracha like in the image below.)

Fried rice is a great way to dress up leftover proteins (I really can’t think of one that wouldn’t work), and another great reason to keep a bag or two of cauliflower rice in the freezer for use at any time. The bacon works very well here, and the eggs are a classic touch as well.

Finally, if you have a mini-food processor or chopper, it’s a cinch to mince the garlic and ginger (maybe a jalapeno or serrano too), though grating on a microplane grater is uber-easy too. We think the both the fish sauce and toasted sesame oil are essentials, you make the call.

1 medium head cauliflower, riced, or 1 lb bag prepared riced cauliflower

4-5 slices thick-cut bacon, thinly sliced OR other meat (see above)
2 large pastured eggs

1 small onion or 2 shallots, diced small
1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise, then cut into small slices
4-5 ounces fresh mushrooms, stemmed, trimmed, thinly sliced
1.5 inches of fresh ginger, minced or grated (see above)
1 large garlic clove, minced or grated (see above)

2-3 green onions, trimmed, green and white parts, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped
2 tbsp Thai basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
2 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos
1 tbsp or more good fish sauce
1 tbsp or more coconut or rice vinegar
1 tbsp or more toasted sesame oil

Good salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Optional
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 or more jalapenos or serranos, minced
Sub riced broccoli for part of the cauliflower
Add a handful of chopped baby spinach or kale
Thai-style chili paste or sriracha
Bean sprouts, more cilantro or basil to add at service.

Prep the cauliflower if starting with fresh; you’ll speed your kitchen time to prep all the vegetables and herbs as well. Gently whisk the eggs in a cup/bowl.

Sauté the bacon over medium heat until browned and crispy; remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; quickly cook the whisked eggs until firm, then remove to a plate/cutting board and cut into thin strips.

Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the onions (or shallots) and carrots to the pan, once they begin to soften add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms have given off their moisture and begun to caramelize a bit. Add the ginger and garlic, along with a shake or grind of salt and pepper, and cook for another minute or so until you can really smell the ginger.

Now add the cauliflower, along with another shake/grind of salt and pepper, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring now and again, until the cauliflower begins to tenderize (you don’t want it mushy).

Now add half the green onions, the chopped herbs, the tamari or coconut aminos, fish sauce, vinegar if using, chopped egg, and the toasted sesame oil. Add the frozen peas now if using, as well as the chopped spinach or kale.

Stir quickly as all the add-ins get warm, taste for salt and pepper, adjusting as needed. Stir in the bacon and egg, then sprinkle the rest on top at service, along with the remainder of the green onions, and additional cilantro or basil as desired.

Enjoy.