A few weeks ago, my friend Donna and I were planning a small get together to watch some movies. There were going to be 5 of us. Donna is also a fantastic cook (She’s Italian-it’s in the genes), but we wanted to do something healthy. The Today Show happened to be on and they showed a few examples of low carb, yet satisfying dishes. Two of them stood out for us. One was a salmon dish with an avocado “butter” and a cauliflower “risotto” with wild mushrooms.
Donna looked at me as said, “Ooh! Wanna try those?” “Why not,” I answered. “It’s always fun to try new recipes!” We made them both at her house on movie night and everyone agreed they were both good….but the original risotto recipe wasn’t “zingy” enough for anyone. It was a little bland, frankly. Donna and I both started riffing on what we could do with it. “It needs a LOT more mushrooms!” ” How about three times more garlic?” “Yeah, and we can add other veggies to it!” You get the idea.
Not willing to leave it to just idle chatter, I had to try it again, with my added twists to it. This is what I came up with. I added some mixed seafood to it to make it a one dish meal. This was MUCH better than the original recipe. Thanks, Donna, for adding some great suggestions…
Catch Cauliflower Fever with this “Risotto” with Mushrooms and Seafood!
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 15oz can cannellini beans
- 3/4C vegetable broth or water
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced small
- 1 cup organic cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 8-10oz wild mushrooms (or more!)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 tsps. fresh thyme or 1 tbsp. dried
- 1 lb mix of raw wild shrimp, scallops, calamari...or whatever you'd like!
- 1/4 C dry white wine
- 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
- 10-12 basil leaves, cut into ribbons
- Aged balsamic vinegar glaze for drizzling
Instructions
- To get the 'rice' for the risotto, you can either buy it pre-made, use a box grater (I tried this, and you cant get it all the way down to the nubs without scraping a finger), or use a mini-chopper like this:
- This worked perfectly and was super quick! At the end, it should look like this:
- Blend the beans with the water or vegetable broth until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sauté for another 3 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme and cook another 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cauliflower rice, mix well and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add seafood and cook another 5-6 minutes, until all is cooked through. Deglaze the pan with wine and stir for 2 more minutes.
- Add the bean mixture and mix until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat, add the parmesan and basil. Adjust seasonings.
- To serve, spoon risotto mixture into serving bowls and drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Serve immediately.
Rona Lewis's take on Cauliflower Risotto!
Doesn’t it look good? I made this for myself and now have leftovers! I love leftovers! Seriously, it’s really satisfying and doesn’t leave you with that heavy feeling after chowing down on pasta or noodles. Give it a shot and let me know how it came out!!
oooooh that looks so delicious!