Well, it was fun while it lasted. Were your holiday eating patterns anything like mine? I tried to eat a balanced diet, which by that I mean I tried to eat as much fat as I did carbs. While I wasn't crazy enough to make any food denial related New Year's resolutions (if you were, renounce them immediately before it's too late), I do intend to get back to a more normal diet while I wait for the annual Valentine's Day chocolate comma. This Potato and Cauliflower Mash video recipe I did recently for About.com is a good way to gently get back into those healthier eating habits.Yes, there's potatoes and butter in it, but you can't be expected to go from pumpkin pie and whipped cream straight to celery sticks! By the way, I never have a problem with "diet" recipes as long as they taste as good as, if not better than, the originals. The secret to this delicious combo is braising the cauliflower in the butter separately, and then mashing them into the potatoes. So many cooks boil it all together and it tastes watered down when its done. I think you'll enjoy this method better. Enjoy! Click here for the transcript and ingredients.
21 comments:
Ooh! I never thought to have cauliflower along in my mashed potatoes....I'm not sure why, I have made creamed cauliflower before. Great idea though, I love both vegetables, and this would be a wonderful, less starchy alternative!
I think one of the main reasons people overeat in US is that the food they eat is often bland and mediocre.
If the grub that one eats doesn't taste too exciting, one has a paradoxical tendency to wolf it down faster and get bigger serving of it, to feel satisfied. Velveeta-like reconstituted cheeze, catchup and mayo help to maintain the dubious eating habits.
My wife makes puréed cauliflower that is a wonderful potato substitute. Not that I've got anything against potatoes--it's just a nice, healthy change once in a while.
ohh could you do this with broccoli?
jenny
This looks great! Could one use oven-roasted cauliflower in this recipe, instead of the stove-top braised?
sure, you can do it with broccoli, but it would have a completely different flavor, texture, and color. Other than that it would be really similar.
oven-roasted cauliflower would work perfectly.
Great recipe love it ha thanks looking forward to more recipes
love your recipes, esp chicken marsala and choc lava cake! have a recipe request...love apple pie, esp the one we get in ikea..could you gv the recipe for an "ikea-like" apple pie?
i have to say im not familiar with the ikea apple pie. What kind is it? Does it require assembly? Does the name have lots of extra letters in it? Now I'm craving Swedish meatballs!
hee hee...no extra letters! it is the standard apple pie...but so very yummy. The crust tastes great and the apples are done just right. Of course, my point of reference is the apple pie i make, which even i don't want to eat!!!
I didn't think the IKEA swedish meatballs wld be popular with anyone anywhere else in the world other than where i am...much less for a chef like yourself. Anyway, I'd like to say that cauliflower mash will never be able to achieve the same smooth starchy consistency as potato mash IF need be, as it will always be slightly "grainy" in texture as opposed to the starchiness of potatoes-even if whizzed up in a food processor. Please correct me if i'm wrong. Great blog and vids btw.
Thanks! yes, you are correct (if not obvious) that this will not have the "smooth starchy consistency as potato mash" but as one of my Chef/Mentors used to say, "life is a compromise" I say let's eat and enjoy both.
I made these tonight and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this. I'd never braised a vegetable like that before, just wow! The cauliflower had the perfect tenderness and added a light crunch, a wonderful contrast to the silky golden potatoes alone. Thanks for the inspiration to try this, your blog is going to make me a much better cook.
I'm excited to try some other recipe's, I believe that the next one will be the scallops and leaks with prosciutto. Sounds incredible. Thanks for this.. Most appreciated by us menu/ingredient challenged folk!
I made these tonight and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this. I'd never braised a vegetable like that before, just wow! The cauliflower was a perfect tenderness that added a slight crunch, a wonderful contrast to the silky golden potatoes (what we had) by themselves. Thanks for the inspiration to try this, this blog is going to make me a much better cook.
I'm excited to try some other recipe's, the next one will be the scallops and leaks with prosciutto. Sounds incredible. Thanks for this.. Us menu/ingredient/technique challenged folks appreciate it.
Chef John, you are a life-changer! I made the most delicious dinner tonight with your ginger salmon and this potato-cauliflower thing :) It's not exactly like mash, but I have to argue that it's just as good. I included a chopped onion and a couple cloves of garlic in the braising part, and I used only half the butter and added olive oil at the end instead, and it was super-super-delicious. I have to say that this is maybe the first dinner I ever made that I actually enjoyed eating!
Thanks :)
-D
wow, thanks!
i can't wait to try this recipe! but why do you discard the stem? it has the same consistency as the florets, unlike the broccoli stem which has to be peeled. granted, it's a bit more bitter, but that's just cause it has more flavour, so it's the most nutritious part. why not use it?
I made this tonight and it was delicious...I make mashed potatoes frequently and found the texture very similiar...in fact, nobody seemed to notice...LOL..I have to put out dinner every night for 4 picky ungrateful kids and I consider this a MAJOR victory...still smiling just remembering...
Actually, I really enjoy rutabaga and this had a similiar taste and texture but much milder...
Hey, about.com replaced this recipe with someone else's. Can you post the video and ingredients on here?
I second the comment from Lorenz! I can't find it on allrecipes.com or anywhere online. I have watched this video so many times and never saved it, or the ingredient list offline. Now I am trying to make this dish and I can't remember how much of everything. I know you braise the cauliflower, I think it is in a half stick of butter, you commented that it is a lot, but it is for the whole dish. And I don't remember how many potatoes you use, or if you boil them with salt, I just remember how you cut them to help them cook evenly in the boiling water. Even if you can't put up the video for some reason, it would be great to have the ingredient list and directions. Love your videos and recipes!
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