Cauliflower Mash

Have you ever read a recipe and just started to crave it from the ingredients list? Recently, that happened to me. And I know just what you're thinking: Wait, why is this post labeled "Cauliflower Mash" because, seriously, has she gone daft? (Um, yes, well a little. But I've been that way for a long time.) Because who seriously reads the ingredients of something called Cauliflower Mash, as in the mash of cauliflowers; and then craves it?

Well, I mean, hear me out. Cheese. Let's start with that one. It's easy to love right. And olive oil. Garlic. Hard to go too wrong with minced garlic, right?

And then it had these wholesome, interesting-sounding things like white beans and cornmeal. They kind of intrigued me.

And the truth is that I've had cauliflower in a variety of delicious ways and always like it. But the other truth is that I've had versions of this on my Pinterest board for, oh, well, forever. Because, as per our discussion. Cauliflower. Mash.

I wasn't sure how it would really go over with the minions (and P.S., it didn't). But it was so gloriously delicious that even after making it, I'm still craving. It just hit a savory, nutritious spot that just met a need. Like, a wholesome friend, who's also really fun.

Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't let this sit on your Pinterest board for millennia. Make it. Love it. Serve it with meat if you must.

Cauliflower Mash
adapted from Pinch of Yum
Serves 4-6
Prep and cook time: 15-20 minutes
Cost: $3.20 (that's $.50 for something a 40-year-old woman could totally eat for lunch. Teenagers and men cannot be accounted for in this reckoning and this will likely be a mere side dish to them. But us old ladies--this is all we need for a filling, well-rounded meal)
cauliflower: 1.50, milk: .15, chicken broth: .30, cornmeal: .10, cheese: .40, white beans: .60, other stuff: .15

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 C milk
2 C chicken broth (you might need another if your mash is too thick; I added about 1/2 C more)
1/2 C cornmeal
1/2 C shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar and I did not regret it)
1 14-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Heat the olive oil in a skillet with a lid or a 3-quart pot. Add the cauliflower. Mix it and sprinkle it with salt. Let it cook for a few minutes. It won't get tender, but will get a little flavor.

Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the milk and chicken broth. Simmer (with lid on, so a low temperature is best) until the cauliflower is soft. When it is, mash it up.

Then add the cornmeal and stir. It will thicken, and the cornmeal is not exactly tastable, but kind of there, adding yumminess and nuttiness and thickness. If you need to, add more chicken broth.

Now, if you want, you can add that can of beans. (Note: In the original recipe, they told me to mash the beans. I did the first time I made this, but didn't love the mashed beans. Better to just leave them whole so you don't get a weird bean skin thing happening in you mash.) They add protein and make this a lovely complete meal on its own. (Though this is also really good with meat; we had it with shrimp and it was amazing.)

Add the cheese, mix it up, and let it melt. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower soup doesn't sound very glamorous, does it? Let's call it Creamy Cheesy Soup instead. This is what I called it when Kip (who hates cauliflower) asked what it was last night at dinner time. I won't say that I quite looked him in the eye, but it wasn't a lie either. It is both creamy (as in texture; it contains no actual cream--gasp of shock or delight depending on which soup camp you belong to) and cheesy (as in containing lots of cheese; it does not contain annoyingly over-the-top personality characteristics). But, yes, it does also contain an entire head of cauliflower. Kip ate a bowl and didn't say anything or threaten divorce, but then perhaps he's given up the food battle and is having a clandestine affair with someone who cooks him BBQ chicken and mashed potatoes every night. Hmmm, I'll have to look into that.

My kids--you've met them; pickiest kids on earth except for those with weird eating disorders--were divided over the soup. Mark and Elizabeth wouldn't try it (though I think Elizabeth might have really liked it had it been allowed to cross her lips). Savannah and Emma gave it a go and Emma was even sort of a fan. My kids aside, however, I think this is a pretty kid-friendly soup. It can be made completely smooth and it really is quite cheesy and good.

The other thing that's great about this soup is that it's sort of a blank canvas. Well, better than a blank canvas because it's good as is. However, as a creamy, non-threatening soup, you could totally pump it up and rock your soupy world. Here are some ideas:

1. Add 1 C white beans.
2. Add some chunks of sausage (yes, please)
3. Chop and boil some kale and then add that (it's so in right now, though I have to say it really deserves its day in the sun)
4. Add some chunks of potatoes and maybe some leeks.
5. Add chunks of pretty much any vegetable. It would be lovely with broccoli, carrots, peas or even butternut squash.
6. Puree in a bit of an orange vegetable if the white is just too bland for you and yourn. More vitamin A, check.

Cauliflower Soup (aka Creamy Cheesy Soup)
adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 4-6
Prep and cook time: 45 minutes
Cost: $3.00
(cauliflower: 1.49, bullion cubes: .25, onion: .15, cheddar: 1.00, butter: .10)

Note: I recommend using homemade broth or a lower sodium broth. Not because I am Mrs. Healthy Pants, but because I found ours a little on the salty side and wish I'd toned it down a bit.

Another Note: I pureed this and made it perfectly smooth. However, if you're serving grown-ups or other individuals who might actually enjoy a bit of texture, you might want to set aside 1 C of the soup before pureeing and then add it back in at the end, so as to have a bit of texture in your soup.

3 Tbs butter (unsalted)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 medium head cauliflower cut into 1-2 inch pieces
4 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 C water
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar (about 5 1/2 oz)
pepper
garnish with pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika (my newest love), or something perky and green

Melt butter in large pot and throw onions in. Let them soften up a bit and then add cauliflower. Cook until the cauliflower has a bit of color to it. (Alternately, you could probably roast your cauliflower as your onion softened on the stove). Add water and broth and cook for 20-30 minutes or until it's totally soft.

Let it cool for a few minutes and then puree. (If you'd like it a bit chunky, reserve some of the cauliflower and add it back at the end.) You can do this with an immersion blender or by putting it in a regular blender. (If using a regular blender, be sure it's not crazy hot and hold a hot pad over the top of the blender to keep it from exploding out of the darn thing.)

Put it back on the stove and add the shredded cheese. Stir gently until the cheese is all melted. Then garnish with pepper or something red or something green.

See post for ideas about how to rock your soupy world if you're the type of person to do so.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Carrot Cauliflower Sandwiches

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch as our family of 6 tries really hard to eat on $6/day.

What? You don't see your children galloping to the table when you call, "The carrot cauliflower sandwiches are ready, dears." (Because I totally know you call your babies 'dears' on a regular basis, don't you?)

As for galloping, I've got to tell you, they probably won't. They'll most likely compare the scent of the cooked cauliflower to poop; even your husband will chime in on that one (and let's face it, it does have a slightly shall we say gassy smell when cooked). They'll probably make gagging noises and maybe even make a show of going into the bathroom to "barf." I assure you that this is because they hold your skill as a homemaker in the utmost regard. Okay, well, I don't assure you of that. But I will assure you of this: You should make this anyway because it's very very good and pretty darn nutritious, and even if you end up eating it all by your lonely for lunch one day (or over the course of a couple days), you won't really mind because that means more for you. Amen and amen.

I first discovered this sandwich when writing an article on child care while in graduate school. I went to a woman's house to observe her child care and guess what was on the menu for lunch (and yes, her little dears ate it). She made hers like grilled cheese--she used two pieces of buttered bread, which she toasted (with the filling between) on a skillet. It's crazy wicked good this way, but sometimes I'm not hungry enough for that much at lunch. I usually have mine open faced on one piece of toast, and I find this sandwich SPECTACULAR with a slice of sharp cheddar underneath the veggie filling. I've made this sandwich for several (adult) loved ones. Everyone's a bit skeptical at first (it's like sort of like telling your mother your fiance is named Bertha--sure, she might be sweet and petite and skinny as a nail, but until you get to know her, that name will just trip you up). But everyone who has eaten it has enjoyed it.

Carrot Cauliflower Sandwiches
Serves 6-8
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Cost: $1.45
(cauliflower: 1.50, carrots: 35, mayo: .05, bread: .05)

1 small head cauliflower
6 medium carrots (I'm thinking about 1/2 pound)
2/3 C mayo
salt and pepper to taste
toast to eat it on (I like it best with sourdough)
slices cheddar cheese (option)

Steam or boil the cauliflower and carrots. Steaming takes a bit longer, but is the healthiest. If you boil them, just use about 1 inch of water, cover the pot, and keep an eye on it just in case the water gets low. I usually cut the stalk off the cauliflower, but otherwise leave it as a head and then dice the carrots.

Steam or boil them until they are tender enough to be mashed with a fork, but not so tender that they will turn into paste when you mash them. (You should be able to cut right into the head of cauliflower with a fork and have it break apart, but it shouldn't feel like cutting soft butter.) For perfectly perfect results, you can cook the cauliflower and carrots in different pans, but that's too much hassle for me, so I just check to make sure one or the other isn't getting too soft. If it is, I take that one out and leave the other to cook longer.

Drain off liquid and mash the carrots and cauliflower with a fork.

(You'll note I cut up my cauliflower here. It cooked a little too fast and came out a little too mushy. The world didn't end, but I wish I'd left it as a head or as bigger chunks.)

Add mayonnaise, beginning with just 1/3 C. If you want more, keep adding it until it's a consistency you like.

Add salt and pepper. Don't skip this step. This needs some salt to make it work. Give it a couple shakes until it's singing your song.

Eat on toast with cheese. Or put between two pieces of bread. Butter the bread and heat on a skillet as you would grilled cheese. (That'll sing your song.) It's also great on Wheat Thins. It'll keep in the fridge for a good week, although I always love it the most right out of the pan.

PRINTABLE RECIPE