Catalan Allioli Mashed Cauliflower
Have you ever heard of allioli? Not aioli, but allioli. I hadn’t until a few years ago. It’s similar to an aioli, without the eggs, and hails from the province of Catalonia, in northeastern tip of Spain. I first had Catalan allioli in a Mediterranean restaurant called Zaytinya’s in Washington, D.C. Here, it was a beautiful, creamy spread, paired with warm, homemade pita bread. I’m drooling just thinking about it. Delightfully frothy and light, raw garlic is whipped into submission with just a touch of olive oil and lemon juice. It’s quite the process, and like homemade mayonnaise, takes some practice to get just the right consistency without breaking the emulsion. Find the recipe for this delicious spread HERE. Trust me, you won’t regret for a minute mastering this tasty condiment. And paired with mashed cauliflower? You’ll have everyone reaching for this special version of Catalan Allioli Mashed Cauliflower!
Picture Credit: Food Wishes
After creating the allioli, I spread it over a head of fresh cauliflower. Sprinkled with salt and pepper and dosed with a healthy round of pureed garlic, I roasted the head of cauliflower in the oven at 350 degrees for 80 minutes. Yes, it took that long to cook! It was a big head of cauliflower! You need the cauliflower quite tender in order for it to puree properly.
Once baked (and oh my goodness, does your house smell divinely of roasted garlic!), break the head of cauliflower apart into pieces. Place into a food processor, add a cup or so of milk (use a dairy free milk for Paleo/Whole30), a tablespoon of ghee, a teaspoon of salt and pepper, a handful of fresh parsley, and puree until smooth. This takes about 5-6 minutes. Feel free to add more milk until you get the consistency you desire. It should look like mashed potatoes!
A tip for better consistency: If you’re not going super low carb, try adding in one medium/large cooked potato. This helps with consistency as the starch in the potato binds better than just pure cauliflower. Also, fresh cauliflower purees better than frozen. Frozen has a higher water content and tends to get soupy.
Catalana Allioli Mashed Cauliflower
Catalan Allioli Mashed Cauliflower
A Paleo/Whole30 recipe of whipped garlic and olive atop roasted cauliflower. Pureed into a delightful side dish that everyone will enjoy!
Ingredients
-
2
tbsp
Catalan Garlic Allioli
Recipe here: https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Catalan-Garlic-Sauce/
- 1 head raw cauliflower washed and leaves trimmed off
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 cup cashew milk Any milk will work, except coconut
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
-
After making garlic allioli, set aside.
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-
Place cauliflower in baking dish and pour 1 cup of water around base.
-
Spread allioli over top of cauliflower. Roast in oven for 80-90 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender. Remove from oven.
-
Break cauliflower into smaller florets. Place in large food processor.
-
Add ghee, salt, pepper, milk, and parsley to cauliflower and blend until smooth. Serve hot.