Zesty Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower rice can be bland but, with just a dash of fresh citrus for zing and toasted nuts for depth and texture, you wouldn’t know you were eating a vegetable in place of a grain!
Ingredients
- 1 extra-large cauliflower
- 3 tbsp olive oil or sun-dried tomato oil
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes sliced
- 1 whole lemon zested
- 2 -3 tsp lemon juice
- 2 large handfuls coriander or parsley chopped
- 20 g almond flakes toasted
- 10 g pine nuts toasted
- sea salt or herbamare
- black pepper
Instructions
- Using a knife cut around the core of the cauliflower, breaking off the florets and discarding the stalk (do save it for soups though!)
- Place a few handfuls of the cauliflower florets into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until you have a rice-like texture (be careful not to over blend or overfill the bowl). Repeat this until all the cauliflower is blitzed. If you do not have a food processor you can grate the cauliflower or shred it with a knife (or for speed and simplicity, you are now able to buy ready made cauliflower rice in most large supermarkets)
- In a large non-stick frying pan, toast your almond flakes and pine nuts, if they aren’t already toasted, then set aside.
- Add 2 tbsp. of olive oil or oil from the sun-dried tomato jar (for extra flavor) to the frying pan and warm over a medium heat. Tip the cauliflower rice into the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes before adding in the sea salt/herbamare and a couple of twists of cracked black pepper. Then add the zest of a lemon, together with 2-3 tsp. lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Lower the heat, then toss in the chopped coriander or parsley, sun dried tomatoes, toasted flaked almonds and the pine nuts and allow to gently warm through. Check for seasoning, and if, desired, can add more lemon juice.
- Just before serving or reheating add the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Serve this zesty cauliflower rice with your favourite main course or use it to stuff baked vegetables with.
Notes
LISA’S TIP – You can make this dish in advance and serve either cold or reheated on the stove. Something I highly recommend doing is placing the finished rice (either in the frying pan or a serving dish) covered with foil into an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 25 minutes with the foil removed for the last 10 minutes – this adds a different flavor dimension to the dish. I love to serve with this with pan-fried seabass for a light meal, or something heavier like slow cooked lamb where the rice is perfect for soaking up the juices - however it also tastes delicious on its own!
Keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days.