Sunday Rewind: Ricing the side

Ricing the Side – Originally posted April 8, 2012

As The Rantings of an Amateur Chef has been going since February of 2012, there are quite a few readers that have joined along the way. In an effort to bring back some great recipes that they may have missed, I will dedicate Sundays to re-posting a favorite that is at least two years old. I hope you enjoy! – The Ranting Chef

One of the first items I learned to cook was rice. I think it stemmed from when I was a kid and had an upset stomach, my goto dish was a bowl of white rice and a can of ginger ale. While I rarely drank ginger ale other than when I was sick, rice was a staple for me. An easy side dish. It can absorb the flavor of sauces of what you put on top of it and easily scale for 1-12 servings. A ratio of 2x water to 1x rice, a dash or two of salt is all you need. Boil the water, pour in rice, dash with salt and simmer for 18 minutes. Not 19. Not 17. 18.

Years ago when I first tried the low carb diet, I missed quite a few foods. Bread….potatoes (in every form) and rice. Very quickly I found cauliflower as a viable substitute and as I showed with Mashed Blue Cauliflower, the versatile vegetable can substitute for potatoes. It also can make a good substitute for rice, so the other day when I made Diablo Shrimp, I decided to make some almond “rice”.

Slivered almonds and “riced” cauliflower.

The recipe calls for a number of different spices. I had some Montreal Chicken seasoning, so used that instead.

While it probably can be done without a food processor, it would take some time. Use the shredding disc (or you can use a shredder if doing it manually).

Looks just like rice, doesn’t it? When making cauliflower mashed “potatoes” you want to steam it before mashing. For cauliflower “rice” you want to change the shape while still raw, then cook it.

While not quite rice, it is pretty close and tastes good in its own right.

Almond Rice

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head cauliflower shredded
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp chicken stock powder
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted
• 1 tsp seasoning (see recipe below)
• Seasoning mix (Makes plenty for later)
• 3 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper.

Directions:

Steam the cauliflower in the microwave, covered on high for 7 minutes. Saute the onion in the butter, adding the cauliflower when its done. Add the stock and the wine, reduce to simmer. When ready to serve add the almonds. So tasty!

Source: http://joanandjoy.blogspot.com/2011/02/chicken-almond-rice.html