Cauliflower Risotto, Comforting Keto Side Dish
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Cauliflower Risotto is the perfect side dish when you’re cutting grains or eating keto. But, even if you’re not, this is still a wonderful dish to make when you don’t have time for the real thing.
I am Italian. I have an in depth article on making authentic risotto with a video here. I admit, this is not that risotto. This is inspired by risotto. It’s made with lots of butter, shallots, parmesan cheese and a bit of cream cheese to fake the cream that naturally occurs for risotto’s arborio rice.
Cauliflower risotto goes particularly well with salmon, takes mere minutes to make and affords you the chance to have a quick but almost gourmet dinner within twenty minutes.
I kept this on the simple side, not adding any extra ingredients, but you could easily add in mushrooms, a few green peas, asparagus, shrimp or pumpkin puree or butternut squash. I have made so many different versions of risotto over the years, and you can be as creative as you want.
How to Make Cauliflower Rice Taste Like Classic Risotto
What makes risotto risotto? Arborio rice that exudes its own creaminess and has a bite to it. It’s flavor driven with onion, butter, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a bit of acid.
Cauliflower risotto will start with onion (I like shallots), and grass fed butter. While cauliflower can’t become creamy on its own like arborio rice, we can fake the creaminess and the acid by adding cream cheese and a little lemon zest. Authentic parmesan reggiano, freshly grated tops it off.
It will still deliver that Italian comfort feeling risotto is known for and is so good that I often end up eating half of it before the entree is ready. It’s also good heated up. If you need to do that, add a little melted butter.
More Cauliflower Recipes from Spinach Tiger
20 Low Carb Cauliflower Vegetables Here
Cauliflower Risotto
Equipment
- Zester
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons grass fed butter
- 2 large shallots diced
- 6 cups cauliflower rice frozen
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- zest of half lemon
- 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- dash nutmeg, freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Dice shallots.
- Melt butter into frying pan.
- Add shallots and sauté on low just enough to soften.
- Add cauliflower rice.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add Dash of nutmeg.
- Keep stirring until cauliflower is cooked through. You may need to add more butter if the cauliflower seems. dry.
- Add lemon zest.
- Cook about twenty minutes, and then add in cream cheese, stirring to incorporate.
- Top with grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of parsley.
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