Groovin' the Cauliflower

I can’t wait to try Little Sis’ cauliflower steaks.  The cauliflower that I got (the same day she did – now entering the cauliflower zone), was already being roasted with potatoes and garlic and looking forward to being mashed.

Now I know mashing cauliflower is nothing new, with or without potatoes, but I wanted the flavor a little different, a little garlicky – and as long as I’m chopping vegetables, why not roast them?  Roasted garlic is a bit more subtle and rich than sauteed, and certainly more so than raw, so I thought it might be good to toss it all together.

This is not a recipe for you to follow to the number, just a guide and my numbers are so you can approximate ratio of ingredients should you desire to make something tasting similar to mine.

Mashed & Roasted, or, Fairly Abused Cauliflower.

Preheat oven to 375

6 medium red potatoes cut into chunks (leaving the skins because it is very convenient to my time crunched self that lots of the nutrients are in the skin, so I SHOULD leave the skins on),

1 smallish head of cauliflower, also cut into chunks – see the abuse begins already

4 plump garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half

1 sprig (about 4″) of fresh rosemary clipped into little pieces (about 1/2 Tbsp – use 1 tsp dried) 

2 – 4 Tbsp olive oil.  Use more than you might for plain roasting so the mix will be nice and greasy for mashing.

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 – 1 cup unsweetened milk of your favorite variety.  I used homemade almond milk.

Place all but milk in a bowl or right on the tray and mix it up.

Roast for about 45 minutes or until very tender (times will vary by chunk size and crowding)

Then I stuck them in the Vita Mix, poured in milk a bit at a time until as creamy as I wanted. Actually my desired consistency of thick was a bit much for my Vita Mix, so, I ended up removing the big white glob with red speckles of skin in it and completing the mashing with a masher.  Not the masher in a raincoat from Carol Burnett – that’s just gross when you are trying to cook!  My good old masher.

Next time I think I’ll use my hand held beaters, or just be more liberal with the milk from the get go to avoid overheating my Vita Mix.

But it was worth it!  Very tasty and the 11 year old gobbled up those ‘mashed potatoes’ even knowing that the dreaded cauliflower was present.  Served here with non-dairy creamed kale which is also very tasty!

Whatever approach you take to healthy eating, no one denies the importance of vegetables.  See our Baby Step check in about the use of pre-emptive produce (PEP) and…. Rock On with your bad self Ms. Cauliflower.

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