Regular readers of my blog will likely say to themselves – there she comes AGAIN, with yet another recipe for mashed cauliflower. When is she going to stop? Probably not in the near future, because I keep finding interesting ways to enjoy one of my favorite side dishes. This version turned out pretty tasty, so I must share with you, magnanimous person that I am. I got the idea from a post over at Closet Cooking, and made a few changes to use what I had around in the fridge. The spinach adds a lot in terms of flavor and nutrients. This one will definitely be a regular appearance at our table.
CAULIFLOWER-SPINACH PUREE
(modified from Closet Cooking)
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 ounces spinach
squeeze of lemon juice (1 or 2 teaspoons)
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup Greek yogurt, full-fat if you can find it (good luck!)
freshly ground nutmeg
almond milk to taste
salt and pepper
fresh chives, minced
Place the cauliflower in a steamer over boiling water and steam until fork tender, about 10 minutes. While the cauliflower cooks, sautée the fresh spinach in olive oil until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, add a little lemon juice and reserve. Place the cooked cauliflower in the bowl of a food processor. Add the feta cheese, yogurt, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and process until well combined. Add the reserved spinach, process for a few seconds. If too thick add almond milk until you reach the right consistency. The puree can be warmed up for a minute in the microwave if the cold ingredients added to it cooled it down too much, but probably it will not be necessary.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
I loved this take on cauliflower puree so much that I made it again the following week, using kale instead of spinach, and adding a little bit of sun-dried tomato to the mix. It turned out almost great, but not quite. A few details that I should have paid more attention to compromised the quality of the dish. I used chopped kale, pre-bagged, thinking it would make my life a lot easier. Well, it did, but it didn’t. In the bagged version, the stems are chopped together with the leaves, so because I cooked them very little to preserve that nice bright green color, the stems were a bit tough. Not pleasant in the middle of the smooth cauliflower puree. So, my advice is to either go for spinach, or if you like the assertive taste of kale, buy the leaves, and chop them. If the food police is not around, you can discard the stems, but if you have guilty feelings about it, cook the kale in two steps, stems first, leaves at the end.
This is such a nice side dish, it goes well with almost anything, from seafood to beef, and leftovers keep well in the fridge. I bet they could be wonderful made into little fritters, adding an egg, maybe a bit of almond flour. This spinach version I shared today we enjoyed a while ago with Chicken Thighs with Roasted Tomato Salsa. The kale variation was matched with another interesting recipe from Cooking Light magazine, which I shall blog about in the near future: a Cremini Mushroom Meatloaf, which is actually a lot more mushroom than meat. Great recipe, stay tuned… 😉
ONE YEAR AGO: In My (NEW!) Kitchen
TWO YEARS AGO: The Lab Move and New Beginnings
THREE YEARS AGO: Honey-Oat Pain de Mie
FOUR YEARS AGO: Carrot and Leek Soup
FIVE YEARS AGO: Chicken Parmigiana 101
I love it!!! Will have to try this too!
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Hope you do! Very nice side dish…
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Delicious! Really comforting and tasty.
Cheers,
Rosa
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I love this type of dish, comforting without being excessive…
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Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
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Thanks for the reblog…
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Spinach, feta, honey … adding colour and string flavours to your cauliflower is a great way to switch things up.
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Exactly!
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Haha, this is great! No demand to stop the cauliflower posts on my end. I love it.
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Great, I am safe with you then…… there shall be more! 😉
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I like all the green in your puree. It looks very inviting! I can just tell it’s going to be delicious!
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Cauliflower puree can be a bit bland, this really shakes things up nicely
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Yes, it can be. It’s one of those veggies that needs a bit of help from us, and your dish does it beautifully!
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😉
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I do love cauliflower puree, so please go ahead and keep posting your variations! I was just chatting with my friend who shares Thanksgiving with me and my children about preparing cauliflower mash instead of potatoes. The problem is my son complains he knows the difference in a not so good way! I’m trying to “trick” him otherwise by testing different ways. I know it will never completely replace potatoes but I keep trying!
And that bagged kale made me smile. My daughter loves my kale salad and tried to make it with the chopped kale…same thing, they chop up all the tough stems! Definitely didn’t taste the same!
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Maybe you could try this one – a very interesting recipe that makes cauliflower puree end up with a perfect texture that I imagine NO ONE will object to
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Bummer. I have bagged kale for my soup tonight. I hope I don’t run into similar issues. I figured it would be a good time-saver tonight. Let’s hope I don’t pay for that! Your puree looks good. I bet it has a wonderful, fresh taste with the lemon and yogurt in there. Have a great day Sally!
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I think in a soup you will have less problems, but I don’t think I’ll buy the bagged kale anymore. Seems so convenient, but it backfired…
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You were right…worked okay in the soup. Mike loved it. 🙂
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Hi Sally, I am all about the side dishes, this looks wonderful.
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Thank you, Cheri!
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It’s almost like spanakopita in cauliflower puree form! And I feel you on the crunchy kale stems. I’ve made that mistake OFTEN and having to chew through those can really turn you off from a dish!
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I don’t know why they cannot bag the product removing the stems before processing – oh, well…. never again!
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this is so creative. Definitely a new take on cauliflower puree and one that I actually might be able to get my hubby to taste! He hates cauliflower but this I think he could do:) LOL!
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He might enjoy this one indeed – you can also play with the proportions and add a little more feta, a little more yogurt… who knows, he might go for it 😉
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This sounds so good with the feta! Cauliflower is one of my favorites. There can never be too many cauliflower recipes!
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You and I fully agree on this one… The only thing I dislike about cauliflower (and broccoli, and Brussels sprouts) is their smell while cooking. Other than that, no issues!
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I love mashed cauliflower but I’ve never tried it mixing it with spinach. Thanks for the inspiration Sally, I’m going to try it this week!
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go for it, Mike!
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Oooh, what a great idea to combine cauli with spinach in this wonderful dip ~ the lemon and feta are curling my toes. Kevin is full of drool-worthy inspiration. I can well imagine how all of these ingredients conspire to create a delicious and satisfying bite. p.s. Perhaps a little bit of ‘massaged kale’ would have eased the pain? (wink!!).
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PALM TO THE FOREHEAD! I knew I should have gotten intimate with the kale….. what was I thinking?????
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Feta and spinach in ANYTHING is awesome….YUM!
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Isn’t that true? Feta and spinach go so well together…
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I agree about feta and spinach in anything is good but I love the yogurt, lemon and cauliflower too. This is a wonderful dish.
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It is a great side dish, and pretty light as far as comfort food goes. I love it!
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Keep posting these cauliflower recipes, Sally. I’d grown tired of cauliflower and wouldn’t be eating it at all if people hadn’t started posting puree recipes. Yours here is one of the most flavorful that I’ve seen. You’re right, too, about the packaged kale. I made that mistake once, realized my error, and spent far too much time finding and trimming away the thick ribs. What a time saver! Never again! 🙂
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Indeed, it is no time saver when it ruins a recipe!
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Sounds good to me!
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Kalyn, how great to see you here! I thought you would like this one….
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I totally support you on making the most of the food you love, bring it on, this looks wonderful, and so healthy! I find cauliflower a little hard to be creative with, so I’m loving this.
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Thank you! I hope you try this, it is definitely one of my favorite versions so far. Just stay away from bagged kale! 😉
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So glad that cauliflower gets so much more appreciation this days. Yours look so delicious too.
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Me too, I am a fanatic for cauliflower and love the creative uses I see everywhere now…
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I love making cauliflower purees, and really like this one, Sally!!
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It is one of the best… I just made another one last week with sweet potatoes – a little more carb than this one, but the color was UNREAL!
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