Recipe of the Week: BBQ Cauliflower
Oh cauliflower, how I love thee! There isn't anything more versatile than cauliflower, seriously. You can grate it, turning it into "rice"; you can baste it and bake it whole; you can boil it and blend it up into a dip or add it into a sauce (I suggest spaghetti sauce); you can cut it into thick slices and grill it (I highly, highly recommend this Forks over Knives recipe...it's amazing); you can eat it raw; or you can break it up into florets and do countless numbers of things with it.
This last way is how I often cook it, either by dipping the florets in batter, baking them, and then adding a sauce; or just simply cooking the raw florets in a sauce. I have the good fortune of living in the same town as Isa Moskowitz' ground-breaking vegan restaurant Modern Love. Even before I fully embraced a vegan lifestyle, I found this restaurant to have the best food I've ever eaten at a restaurant, and each visit since has proven my point. One visit saw BBQ cauliflower on my plate and I fell in love. I never thought of combining the two before, so I tried it at home and found it to be just as great.
I've made it a few times now, and it's very simple to prepare. I serve it over rice and a side of some kind of veggie, in this case it was brussel sprouts. I know, I know...I'm always making brussel sprouts. (Don't judge me!) I love brussel sprouts, and I freely admit it. You don't even know how often I would eat them if I could! In fact, at the grocery store the other day, they had bags of them on sale for 95 cents (!!) a bag, so many came home with me. Okay, now that I've gone off the rails, let's get back on track. Here's my simple, but delicious, recipe.
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| BBQ Cauliflower over basmati rice with a side of miso-roasted brussel sprouts. |
BBQ Cauliflower with Rice
Ingredients:
2 T. coconut oil
1 head of cauliflower, cleaned and broken up into florets
2-3 c. BBQ sauce
2 c. veggie stock
1 c. basmati rice
Instructions:
1. Bring the veggie stock to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Add the rice and bring to a boil again. Turn it down to medium heat, cover, and cook for approx. 15 minutes.
3. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan until the oil ripples.
4. Add cauliflower florets and turn to coat in oil. Stir regularly while keeping an eye on it. You're just looking to lightly brown the cauli.
5. Turn heat down to medium and add BBQ sauce. Start with 2 cups, but add more if needed. Stir to coat evenly, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender.
To Serve:
Put a bed of rice down on a plate, then add the cauli. Spoon a bit of the sauce over the entire thing. Garnish with chives. I like to serve a side of roasted or sauteed veggies with this, preferably a green one. Broccoli, green beans, snap peas, brussel sprouts, zucchini, or anything like that would be perfect.
Notes:
*You can use any kind of oil you prefer, but coconut oil really gives it that "something" in the flavor department.
*You can use any kind of BBQ sauce as well, but a smokey-sweet one is my preference.
*You can easily increase the size of your meal by adding another head of cauli and more bbq sauce. In this case, you would want to fry the cauli in batches, and then add them all together for the sauce.
*You can reduce the amount of oil you use as well, to 1 T., but I think 2 works best.
2 c. veggie stock
1 c. basmati rice
Instructions:
1. Bring the veggie stock to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Add the rice and bring to a boil again. Turn it down to medium heat, cover, and cook for approx. 15 minutes.
3. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan until the oil ripples.
4. Add cauliflower florets and turn to coat in oil. Stir regularly while keeping an eye on it. You're just looking to lightly brown the cauli.
5. Turn heat down to medium and add BBQ sauce. Start with 2 cups, but add more if needed. Stir to coat evenly, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender.
To Serve:
Put a bed of rice down on a plate, then add the cauli. Spoon a bit of the sauce over the entire thing. Garnish with chives. I like to serve a side of roasted or sauteed veggies with this, preferably a green one. Broccoli, green beans, snap peas, brussel sprouts, zucchini, or anything like that would be perfect.
Notes:
*You can use any kind of oil you prefer, but coconut oil really gives it that "something" in the flavor department.
*You can use any kind of BBQ sauce as well, but a smokey-sweet one is my preference.
*You can easily increase the size of your meal by adding another head of cauli and more bbq sauce. In this case, you would want to fry the cauli in batches, and then add them all together for the sauce.
*You can reduce the amount of oil you use as well, to 1 T., but I think 2 works best.
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