I am really not one for food trends and fashions – by and large I eat what I like and let every bandwagon pass me by. However I can see that for 2105 the humble cauliflower will become my go to vegetable and a staple in the salad drawer. Cheap, versatile and adaptable, it also works very well as a lower calorie substitute for pasta and grains, making it an easy way to get those all important portions of #ExtraVeg into you.
If you concentrate about eating a little more of the good stuff you can forget about the bad stuff, and it makes sticking to a healthier eating plan less of a chore, hence my mantra for healthy eating “Eat a generous portion of (raw) vegetables with every meal whenever you can”.
Finely chopped cauliflower can be used in place of rice – I fried it with some onion, and then cooked with some stock for 8 minutes, and served with a piece of marinaded and steamed salmon a lighter meal, but still packed with flavour and both filling and warming for these dark, dank and cold days at the start of the New Year. Comforting healthy food which will not make you feel deprived.
To chop the cauliflower either pulse it in a food processor until it is cut into rice sized pieces, or water chop by breaking into florets, placing in your blender jug covered with water and whizzing for a few seconds before draining and giving a gently squeeze in a tea towel. I was astonished at how fast and even the water chopping was – a useful short cut to remember.
I made this dish in my REDMOND multicooker – but it is easily adaptable for conventional cooking.
- 1 tbs toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbs tamari1 tbs rice wine
- Dash Tabasco or other chilli sauce
- Juice ½ lemon
- grating of ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 salmon fillets
- Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over the salmon fillets. Allow to marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- ½ head cauliflower – chopped into rice sized pieces
- scant ½ cup vegetable stock
- remains of the salmon marinade
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Select the REDMOND Multicooker to FRY – VEGETABLES with a time of 10 minutes. Add the oil and onion then stir fry for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook for another few minutes.
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Press KEEP WARM/ CANCEL . Remove the cauliflower mixture and set to one side.
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Pour two large glasses of water into the bowl, add the steaming container and the salmon fillets. Close the lid. Select STEAM – FISH with a time of 20 minutes.
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minutes before the end of the programme, pour the water away, return the cauliflower mixture to the bowl, add the stock and the remains of the marinade and stir. Replace the steaming basket and add a handful of broccoli florets. Close the lid and cook to the end of the programme.
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Serve the salmon with the cauliflower risotto and broccoli with a slice of lemon, chilli and some fresh coriander.
Click for more recipes using the REDMOND multicooker.
This is a recipe commission for REDMOND, I also received a multicooker for review.
I am sending this to the #ExtraVeg link up which I run with Michelle to encourage everyone to take a simple step to a healthier diet by eating more vegetables.
Mmm, that looks like *exactly* what I feel like for dinner tonight… Been meaning to try the cauliflower rice thing for ages now but still not got round to it. I adore cauliflower so I suspect I will be a fan, even though I am not low-carbing!
That sounds delicious… and healthy!
Love the idea of adding cauliflower to the risotto and the multi-cooker seems like a very good gadget to have in the kitchen :)
I love this light meal yet and it’s full of lovely flavours without too many calories. I had not heard the tip about chopping the cauli in a blender with water but it really does make a great carb free alternative. I have also been eating lots of salmon, it goes so well with Oriental flavourings.
We are eating cauliflower with every other meal at the moment. I love the water chop technique. So so easy!
As the grumbling of my tummy has reminded me I never ate lunch I think I shall try this with the bits I have around the house! Sadly no gadget but I have pots and pans ;-)
I still haven’t tried cauliflower rice but I think I’ll give it a go soon. I’m all for finding new ways to add extra veggies into our meals.
Go for it Becky, you can of course add a handful to regular rice too if going 100% cauliflower is too much first time!
That looks really great, Helen. I am enjoying using our multicooker – it’s much more flexible than you might at first think.
It takes a bit of getting to grips with, but is really really useful. Well worth the space it takes up. I think one would be perfect for a boat too.