I have probably mentioned this before, but I love cauliflower and am always looking for more interesting ways to prepare it. I was, therefore, super excited when this little number from thekitchn.com popped in to my inbox yesterday morning!
Fried rice is one of my ultimate comfort foods and I could literally eat it every day and never get bored. I love that it can be made as healthy or as fatty as you care to make it, and can be a main dish all by itself as well as a great accompaniment.
Aside from the bacon in this recipe, this really is about as healthy as fried rice can get and I have a feeling that this will be on a weekly rotation in my house from now on as it will be perfect to keep in the fridge for lunchtime.
I kept it simple and (mostly) followed the website recipe, and it is easily adaptable to accommodate whatever veggies or proteins you happen to have lying around. I am looking forward to trying it with black beans or edamame beans next time for an extra protein punch.
Anyway, enough of me prattling on. Here is what you will need for around 4 to 6 portions:
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 8 slices bacon (if you're in the UK, use streaky bacon or 4 slices regular bacon)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 1 cup of corn, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup of peas, fresh or frozen
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced (or spring onions, for UK readers)
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts
- 2 to 3 tbsp soy sauce
- Chop the cauliflower into florets and discard the inner core. Working in batches, pulse the florets in a food processor until chopped into rice sized pieces
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over a medium heat until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside on some paper towels to drain. Once bacon is cool, chop into bite sized pieces.
- If you want to use the bacon fat for the rest of the recipe, drain off all but a teaspoon and reserve the rest for the next step. If not, substitute for vegetable oil.
- Beat the eggs and add to the skillet, either scrambling them or making an omelet to cut into strips or chunks. Remove eggs from skillet and set aside.
- Wipe the skillet clean and add one tablespoon of bacon fat or vegetable oil, and return to a medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Next, add the carrots and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower, carrots and peas and mix thoroughly.
- Lower the heat, cover the pan, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.
- Uncover, then stir in eggs, bacon, green onions, cashew nuts and 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Taste and add more soy sauce as required.
- Eat and enjoy! :-)
So, notes for next time - this is not something that you will hear me say very often, but I think there was a little too much bacon. My taste tester pointed out that between the bacon and the soy sauce this dish was quite salty. I think maybe halving the bacon next time would still provide enough fat for cooking, and yummy bacon-y joy and leave room for some beans or some other interesting flavors.
My taste tester also suggested using less veggies next time as he felt that they crowded out the cauliflower and he couldn't really taste it. I must say, this wasn't a problem for me but it is still worth noting.
Finally, be vigilant when you are making the "rice" as I think I pulsed mine a little too much in the food processor and it came out more like large couscous than rice. Again, not that big of a problem, but I will be interested to see what difference there is with larger cauliflower pieces.
Well, that's it for today. I will most definitely be trying this again in the very near future, and rather than making a new post about any changes or improvements I will probably just provide updates on the Puurple Kitchen Facebook page so please make sure you visit the page and click Like to make sure you don't miss out!!
Until next time .....
