Mashed Cauliflower

Here is a lovely “blurb” followed by an instructional video and of course, directions on how to make mashed cauliflower. Just to warn you, this dish will make your house/apt smell like Thanksgiving. Garlic plus rosemary plus chicken broth makes my hungry heart flutter.  Anyway, enjoy this awesome recipe from Paleo Comfort Foods. If you like it as much as I did, show your support and preorder their new cookbook here.

Cauli mash (aka “faux potatoes”) is one of the most versatile side dishes you can create. Add-ins that we’ve used/tried to change up the flavor have ranged from chipotle sauce, paleo mayo (for creaminess), bacon crumbles, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic, jalapenos, Italian parsley, and for those of you putting some dairy in your life, try these with some goat cheese, butter or some heavy whipping cream. There are so many ways you can flavor these – experiment and see what you like!
A few tips and tricks:
– Cooking the cauliflower in chicken stock really adds some nice depth of flavor to the mashed. While you could just steam the cauliflower, I think the flavor is completely different when cooked in the stock.
– Cauliflower has a pretty high water content, so when we cook ours in the chicken broth, we try to get it almost dry (without burning). This usually gives us the creamy texture we personally like.
– If you are more of a chunky mash kind of person, just use a hand masher to retain some of the lumps in your mash.
Watch the video here if you need more detailed info on the “how.”

Ingredients
– 1 head cauliflower, leaves removed, stem and florets chopped into similar sized pieces
– 1 cup chicken stock or broth (more for a particularly large head of cauliflower)
– 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
– 2 cloves garlic, smashed
– 1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves

Instructions
1. Place all ingredients in a medium sized saucepan or Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium and cover, allowing to cook for 15-20 minutes or so, or until the cauliflower is very tender and easily mashed with a fork.**
**You may need to add more stock if everything dries up and your cauliflower is not yet cooked through. Keep an eye on things as it cooks to see if you need to add some more.
3. Once cauliflower is tender and cooked through, pour off any excess stock that remains and reserve.
4. Pour all contents into a food processor and mix. If the cauliflower seems too dry, add in some of the reserved stock.
Add in any spices, herbs, or “mix-ins” that you’d like as discussed above.