Healthy Rice

Rice is one of those staples that if you check the average Jamaican household you WILL find. There is no two ways about. I grew up around rice, although my peeps were more ground provisions and flour dumpling people. But as I acquired my own lifestyle and preferences for food, rice became one of those foods I avoided, high glycemic value and blah blah. And even though brown rice was a supposedly good substitute I just plain and simple, avoided it, despite having a rice cooker by the way. It also meant avoiding or not having as much of, certain home cooked meals (like curried goat or oxtail & beans) because the main accompaniment was rice. And let's be honest yam and banana, with curried goat doesn't quite cut it like some white rice does. But I had accepted my fate of avoiding rice as much as possible with the occasional 'sampling' thrown in, especially during holiday or weekend trips home.

Healthy Cauliflower Rice

It wasn't until I saw a blog post about using cauliflower as 'rice' did I regain hope that I would have rice again, and on the regular. And in such a simple process ,with 1/16th the time it takes to prepare and make, rice is now on my radar and in my meals again. Yippeeee!

How to Make Rice

What you'll need:

Approximately 3 cups of boiling water

1 large head of cauliflower (yields roughly 3 cups)

A large bowl with ice and water or ice cold water

Method:

1. First bring some water (about 3 cups) to boil , whether in a kettle or a pot. 

2. Give your cauliflower a rough chop then blanch by submerging directly into hot water or pour hot water directly over cauliflower in a bowl, for 8-10 seconds. This removes any bugs or worms.

3. Remove florets and place directly into cold water to stop the cooking process, leave just until it cools down.

4. Drain cauliflower (to be as dry as possible) then place in a food processor and pulse until you get it to a rice like consistency. 

5. Cook immediately by sautéing, stir frying or in a steamer basket. Or store in ziploc bag freezer until needed.