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
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!
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.
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