Cauliflower rice has been a Thing with a capital "T" for a while. You know, the kind of trend that the internet freaked out about and suddenly there were a million recipes for the carb alternative–like zoodles 2.0. Here at BA we've treated it just like straight-up rice. We've put it in larb instead of white rice. We've heard from someone who simmered it until it was creamy and spoon-able, stirring in butter, cream, and cheddar cheese, just like classic grits. Ready-to-go cauliflower rice is sold at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's as its own ingredient. We rest our case.
Alex Lau
Turns out, there's something else you should be doing with cauliflower rice, straight from our very own test kitchen sensation Brad Leone. "Put it in your soup," he says. "It acts as a thickener, adding lots of body and creaminess without any fat." Leone uses the technique in his monkfish and cauliflower chowder. The recipe also calls for bigger florets that you can really bite into, but you could easily leave them out if you wanted just the added texture. What's more, it would be good in pretty much any soup, stew, or chowder. "I'd definitely try it in a beef stew," he says. "That'd be great."
Here's how to do it:
First, remove any leaves around the base of the cauliflower. (If you're making the monkfish and cauliflower chowder, slice it directly in half through the stem and follow the below directions with one half, while cutting the other half into nice even-sized florets to keep whole.)
Photo by Laura Murray
