I have to admit that the idea of cauliflower rice did not appeal to me, it just seemed bland, in addition to that, I am not a fan of masquerading one food as another. I love rice and pasta, and they have their place in the mediterranean diet, I don’t need to stop eating them, they are just fine. However, this “rice” was interesting to me because it was a different way of preparing vegetables, but it needed the Greek touch; What if I cooked it with some onion, tomato paste and a few spices? Now that sounds good. So here it is. Basically a different version of the traditional Greek braised cauliflower. With a sprinkle of crumbled feta and a drizzle of olive oil, this was exactly how I imagined it: moist, flavorful and healthy.
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower cut in florets
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2-3 clove buds
- 2-3 allspice berries
- salt/pepper
- Crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Process the cauliflower in a food processor until cauliflower resembles couscous, you may need to do this in 3-4 batches.
- In a deep pan, heat the onion on medium heat, add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Add the cauliflower rice, cinnamon stick, allspice, cloves, pepper and ½ teaspoon salt and stir.
- Mix with the tomato paste with about 1 tablespoon of water and add the the cauliflower and mix well so that the cauliflower has a red color.
- Continue to sauté for 8 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Serve with a sprinkle of crumbled feta and a drizzle of olive oil.
6 Comments
Quick question: this cauliflower rice is really wonderful and much tastier than I expected, but it’s bit fiddly – crumbs of cauliflower end up all over the place! I wonder whether making a big batch and freezing it would work – any thoughts?
Hi Sophie, I don’t see why not! It should work fine
I really like your recipes and have made quite a few now – but one small ask…. Can you stop using ‘cups’ as a measure. I have no idea what a cup is as far as volume or weight and it will be different depending whats in it. A cup of lettuce leaves weighs nothing like the same cup filled with rice or stock…… Please give us the weight in any denomination you like – but not ‘cups’.
Thanks and keep up the recipes
Nick, thanks for your comment. A standard cup is 240 ml or 8 ounces. So regardless of the weight, if I say 1 cup of rice, that means I have already weighed it and translated into cup form for ease. I find that using cups makes the recipe easier for most people, rather than weighing every ingredient.
Am very pleased that as my favourite Greek Food Dietician and bloggist, you have finally embraced cauliflower rice! My family usually give me funny looks when I make it (often). This looks delicious!
Ha ha, Thank you Karen!