One of the best things about having a food blog is being forced, in a way – in the most positive sense of the ter – to try out new recipes all the time. As with most people, I often fall into food “ruts” and cook the same thing over and over again. It’s easy to do especially when things get busy or when you discover something amazingly delicious and new and want to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
But, while I love convenience, I also love trying out new flavours and techniques. One technique which you have probably all heard of by now is vegetable “rice” or “cous cous” – that is throwing roughly chopped vegetables into a food processor and mixing until it’s quite fine, resembling rice or couscous. The most common veggie to do this with is cauliflower, and the internet seems to be awash these days with various cauliflower rice and couscous recipes.
I first heard about using cauliflower as “rice” a few years back, and as I’m always keen on new ways to incorporate veggies into my diet, I was keen to try it out. Though I must say, Im not the biggest advocator of raw cauli rice (though I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to make it taste better) however cooked cauli rice is a whole other game! I would go as far as to say that I even prefer it to proper couscous, when cooked the right way. As with normal rice, the cauliflower is a little bland and tastes best with some seasonings added in a a good glug of olive oil of dab of butter.
This is my current favorite way of to enjoy cooked cauliflower rice. It’s a quick, 1 pan dish thats the perfect balance of being easy to make, healthy and full of flavour. I hope you like it as much as we do :)
- ½ head cauliflower
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- ⅔ cup canned butter beans
- 60g sundried tomatoes
- 60g olives
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 50g feta, crumbled, to serve
- Ribboned fresh basil or baby spinach to serve
- Drain the butter beans and dab dry with a clean tea towel.
- Heat a medium sized fry pan over high heat, add 1 Tbsp of the oil. Once hot, add the beans and ½ tsp salt and fry, stirring occassionally, until starting to brown, around two to three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Roughly chop the cauliflower and add to a food processor. Pulse until the caulflower is finely chopped, resembling couscous.
- Add the remainder of the oil to the fry pan over medium heat. Add the cauliflower and stir to coat. After a minute or so, add the remaining ingredients and cook stirring for around 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and stir through lemon juice.
- Serve topped with crumbled feta and fresh spinach or basil.
You are quite right. It’s wonderful to get forced into making something new.
I love cauli-rice – and I actually think it is almost always better than normal rice. And they look wonderful in this dish :)
I really love the looks of this dish – a one pot meal with so many goodies in it. And those flavors! Plus I like the cooked cauliflower rice, especially for the winter and for anyone with thyroid issues. Thanks for giving us a cooked option to balance all the raw recipes out there. ;-)
I made this dish this week on a recommendation from my daughter who is Katie @WholeNourishment and I have really enjoyed all the wonderful flavors. This is a recipe I will make again so thanks for sharing!
Hi Janet! So lovely to “meet” you – I will have to thank Katie for sending you through my way :) So glad that you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for taking the time to write a comment! – Dearna x
In reminding my mom of this salad, I also made it again. Love it so much! I’ll often top it with avocado and a almond hemp seed crumble and it’s the perfect light but satisfying meal. Thanks again Dearna!