1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (53 page)

Each with 4 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 4 g usable carbs.

This is great for all of you who miss Rice-a-Roni and similar products. And it’s terrific with a simple rotisserie chicken.

½ head cauliflower

½ medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter, divided

1 tablespoon (6 g) chicken bouillon granules

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine

¼ cup (30 g) sliced or slivered almonds

Run the cauliflower through the food processor using the shredding blade. Put the cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole dish, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 7 minutes.

While that’s cooking, sauté the onion in 1 tablespoon (14 g) of butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

When the cauliflower is done, pull it out of the microwave, drain it, and add it to the skillet with the onion. Add the chicken bouillon granules, poultry seasoning, and wine and stir. Turn the heat down to low.

Let that simmer for a minute or two while you sauté the almonds in the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small, heavy skillet. When the almonds are golden, stir them into the “rice” and serve.

Yield:
5 servings

Each with 4 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 2 grams of protein.

Sunkist now puts out sliced, toasted almonds in various flavors, under the name “Almond Accents.” Feel free to use these to vary this dish!

½ head cauliflower, shredded

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

¼ cup (40 g) chopped onion

1 cup (100 g) sliced mushrooms

½ cup (40 g) snow pea pods, fresh, cut in ½ -inch (1.3-cm) pieces

¼ teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules or concentrate

Put the cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid. Add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 6 minutes.

While that’s cooking, heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet and sauté the onions, mushrooms, and snow peas. I like to use the edge of my spatula to break up the mushrooms into smaller pieces but leave the slices whole if you like them better that way—it’s up to you. When the mushrooms have changed color and the snow peas are tender-crisp, drain your cooked cauli-rice and stir it in. Add the chili powder and beef bouillon, stir to distribute the seasonings well, and then serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 2 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 4 g usable carbs.

½ head cauliflower

4 strips bacon

½ medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon (15 ml) liquid beef bouillon concentrate

2 tablespoons (30 ml) tomato sauce

2 tablespoons (18 g) toasted pine nuts

2 tablespoons (7.6 g) chopped parsley

Run the cauliflower through the food processor using the shredding blade, put it in a microwaveable casserole dish, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover it, and cook it on high for 7 minutes.

While that’s cooking, cut the bacon into little pieces—kitchen shears are good for this—and start the little bacon bits frying in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When a little grease has cooked out of the bacon, throw the onion into the skillet. Fry them until the onion is translucent and the bacon is browned and getting crisp.

By now the cauliflower should be done. Drain it and throw it in the skillet with the bacon and onion. Add the beef bouillon concentrate and tomato sauce and stir the whole thing up to combine everything—you can add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, if you like, to help the liquid flavorings spread.

Stir in the pine nuts and parsley (you can just snip it right into the skillet with clean kitchen shears) and serve.

Yield:
4 or 5 servings

Assuming 4 servings, each will have 3 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 2 grams of usable carbs and 4 grams of protein.

This is rich-tasting and slightly piquant.

½ head cauliflower

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

1 cup (100 g) sliced mushrooms

3 anchovy fillets, minced

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons (18.8 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Run the cauliflower through the shredding blade of your food processor. Put it in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and cook on high for 5 to 6 minutes. When it’s done, uncover immediately!

Combine the olive oil and butter in a big, heavy skillet over medium heat, swirling together as the butter melts. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they’re soft and changing color. If your mushroom slices are quite large, you may want to break them up a bit with the edge of your spatula as you stir.

When the mushrooms are soft, stir in the minced anchovies and garlic. Add the cauli-rice, undrained—that little bit of water is going to help the flavors blend. Stir well to distribute all the flavors.

Stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Yield:
3 to 4 servings

Each will have 4 g protein; 2 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 1 g usable carb.

Since West Coasters call scallions “green onions,” I toyed with calling this “Blue-Green ‘Risotto.’ ” Making risotto out of cauliflower “rice” is one of the best ideas I’ve ever had!

½ head cauliflower

8 scallions, thinly sliced

cup (100 g) diced green pepper

1 tablespoon (28 g) butter

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine

¼ cup (30 g) crumbled blue cheese

¼ cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream

Put the cauliflower through the food processor using the shredding blade. Put it in a microwaveable casserole dish, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 7 minutes.

While that’s cooking, slice the scallions and dice the pepper. In a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, start sautéing the scallions and pepper in the butter and oil.

When the microwave goes “ding,” remove the cauliflower and drain it. When the green pepper is starting to get soft, add the cauliflower to the
skillet and stir it in. Then stir in the bouillon, white wine, blue cheese, Parmesan cheese, and heavy cream. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes and serve.

Yield:
5 servings

Each with 4 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 4 grams of protein.

Man, this is good! One of the best side dishes I’ve ever come up with.

½ head cauliflower

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter

1 cup (70 g) sliced mushrooms

½ medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons (30 ml) dry vermouth

1 tablespoon (6 g) chicken bouillon granules

¾ cup (75 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Guar or xanthan

2 tablespoons (7.6 g) chopped fresh parsley

Run the cauliflower through the food processor using the shredding blade. Put the cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole dish, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 7 minutes.

While the cauliflower is cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic and sauté them all together.

When the cauliflower is done, pull it out of the microwave and drain it. When the mushrooms have changed color and are looking done, add the cauliflower to the skillet and stir everything together. Stir in the vermouth, bouillon, and cheese and let the whole thing cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Sprinkle just a little guar or xanthan over the “risotto,” stirring all the while, to give it a creamy texture. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Yield:
5 servings

Each with 4 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 6 grams of protein.

Here shredded cauliflower stands in for bulgar wheat instead of rice. This salad is incredibly delicious, incredibly nutritious, and quite beautiful on the plate. Plus it gets better after a couple of days in the fridge, so taking an extra few minutes to double the batch is definitely worth it.

½ head cauliflower

cup (70 g) sliced stuffed olives*

7 scallions, sliced

2 cups (40 g) triple-washed fresh spinach, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small ripe tomato, finely diced

4 tablespoons (15.2 g) chopped parsley

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon (15 ml) red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons (28 g) mayonnaise

Salt and pepper

Run the cauliflower through the food processor using the shredding blade, put it in a microwaveable casserole dish, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover the dish, and cook it on high for just 5 minutes.

While that’s cooking, put the olives, scallions, spinach, celery, tomato, and parsley in a large salad bowl.