Cauliflower 'Spanish Rice' ♥ Reader Recipe

Today's vegetable recipe: A low-carb and high-fiber 'rice' dish, made not with rice but cauliflower yet still tastes like rice! Weight Watchers 1 point.

When my friend Sally from the Iowa blog Tip of the Iceberg mailed this recipe, she wrote, "I've used this recipe for years and it truly is excellent. I hope you can share it with the world." Verdict? It is truly excellent and Here, World, it is!

It looks like Spanish rice. It tastes like Spanish rice. And yet it's not made with rice, it's made with cauliflower. So it's a perfect choice for people who watch their carb intake for diets or diabetes. And good news, this doesn't taste like 'diet food' -- it's just plain good! And it looks so beautiful on a plate, too, adding color and texture, very pretty!

PS This isn't the first time I've used cauliflower to 'fool' the table. Turns out, cauliflower can taste a lot like mashed potatoes, too, just see these Lighter Mashed 'Potatoes' from Kitchen Parade, the recipe which prompted Sally to share hers. Thanks, Sally, your cauliflower 'Spanish Rice' is a keeper!

READER RECIPE:
CAULIFLOWER 'SPANISH RICE'

Hands-on time: 25 minutes with occasional attention required throughout
Time to table: 1 hour
Makes 5 cups

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped
Salsa to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

COOK THE CAULIFLOWER by steaming in a vegetable steamer or boiling in salted water, cooking to the 'al dente' stage where it's cooked through but not soft. Chop fine.

MEANWHILE in a large skillet, heat the olive oil on MEDIUM til shimmery. Add the onion and green pepper and cook, stirring often, until golden. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and stir in. When the cauliflower is cooked, stir it in and continue to cook, breaking up the cauliflower and tomatoes with the edge of a spatula while stirring. After cooking awhile, stir in the salsa. Keep cooking, keep tasting, adding more salsa and salt and pepper as needed. The dish is 'done' when the liquid has cooked off, the salsa and seasoning are perfect, and the rest of supper is done too!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Cup: 92 Calories; 3g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 257mg Sodium; 15g Carb; 5g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 4g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
My cast iron skillet is about 10 inches across but a bigger one with a bigger cooking surface would have sped along the cooking process.
I was out of green pepper but one would add to the authentic look and feel of Spanish rice.
I used a good half cup, total, of two mild salsas (one tomato and one tomatillo) but started with a couple of tablespoons. If you're short on salsa, pull out the hot sauce!
This would work as a vegan main dish but could also easily be adapted to a rustic main dish, by adding tiny slices of pork or chicken. Note to Vegetarians
This dish could be made ahead and then reheated -- and I bet the leftovers are fabulous!

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MORE CAULIFLOWER RECIPES
~ Roasted Cauliflower ~
~ Cauliflower Tomato Medley ~
~ Curried Cauliflower ~

from Kitchen Parade
~ Cauliflower Risotto ~
~ Quick Cauliflower Soup ~

~ more cauliflower recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

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