MONDAY RECIPE POST - PALEO CAULIFLOWER MASH

Cauliflower Mash - Paleo - serves 2
by Gus

I found this recipe here.

This is a healthier alternative to Mashed Potatoes, even though we are not on a paleo diet. We love mashed potatoes in our family but on the ever hunt for cooking healthier, we fit things into our menu quite often.  Of course, they have to taste great.  We are kind of picky that way.

Preparation time:  5 minutes
Cooking time:     10 minutes
Total time:           15 minutes  

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1-4 tablespoons organic coconut oil (can be substituted using butter/ghee)
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
Salt and Pepper

Steam or boil the cauliflower so that it is tender.  Drain in a colander and place into a food processor with the oil and garlic.  Blend until smooth.

Serve and enjoy!

Guy added the following cooking tips.

"If you want this paleo mashed cauliflower to be super smooth with no lumps at all, then simply push it through a sieve using a spoon.  This may take some time but the end result is a lovely silky smooth cauliflower mash.  If it does end up taking you too long, then be sure to reheat it by placing it back into a pot over low to medium heat.

If you don't have a food blender, then you are still able to mash the cauliflower by hand.  This will take a bit longer and will also be harder to get it nice and smooth.  You can use the tip I mentioned above once you have mashed it to get it to a similar silkiness to the food processor method.

If you are not a fan of garlic make sure you remove it!  The recipe will still taste pretty good without it.  

If you are finding the mash a little too thick for your liking, you can add some almond milk to help thin it out a bit.  I would recommend adding roughly 1/4 cup of almond milk but make sure you slowly add it until you get the consistency you prefer.

If you're interested in other cauliflower dishes, then be sure to check out the super cauliflower rice (found here).  Like this dish the rice is fantastic as either a side dish or to go alongside a protein or similar in a meal."

What did we think?  This turned out a truly delicious side dish.  Tell you the truth we were both surprised how much we enjoyed it.  We like cauliflower a lot but normally have had it steamed in florets, or with cheese sauce as in cauliflower cheese.   It is a keeper and we will be making it again.

Mine came out thinner than I expected and that's probably the way it should be as it is a lot lighter in every way than potatoes.  I actually used two heads of cauliflower as I wanted leftovers to heat up the next day and only used four tablespoons of butter, but I may try cutting down on the amount, which was what I used instead of the coconut oil (I didn't have in my pantry supplies. It will go on the shopping list).  Gregg just said he enjoyed it very much and not to mess around with the ingredients.  He loved it as is.  And there are leftovers for tomorrow.

The photos show it sprinkled liberally with freshly ground black pepper. 

If you are following a Paleo diet here is what I read online.

"Still others say that specifically butter can be part of the Paleo diet, because it differs from other milk products, specifically low fat or skim milk products, in that its higher fat content could potentially lower the glycemic load.   They recommend using only grass fed butter which has then been clarified."