Adventures in Cauliflower, Part 2: Pumpkin Chicken Curry over Cauliflower Coconut Sticky "Rice"

Well, it was with much, MUCH, trepidation that I attempted another cauliflower recipe.  I waited over a week to recover from the last experience, and finally got up the courage to give it another go.  Plus, not being able to sleep does lend itself to the kind of randomness needed to tackle this project.  Thankfully, 1 AM is also a great time to make curry (any time is great for curry, but I have a soft spot in my heart for late night pub curry that may or may not have followed inordinate amounts of drink)!  And thanks to new Crop Share member Louise for answering my call for cauliflower recipes and sending me a recipe for Pumpkin Cashew Coconut Curry over Coconut Rice from PaleOMG.  It should be noted that Louise is also not a big fan of cauliflower, so again I say, where are all these cauliflower lovers and their incredible recipes?  Hmmmm???!!
 
The great thing about the recipe is that it was automatically gluten, dairy & egg free, so no needing to substitute there for our household.  But the cashews had to go, especially since I was the one who discovered the Mister's cashew allergy when I tried to kill him with a cookie one night.  He married me any way.  So what better thing to substitute in to a pumpkin curry than pumpkin seeds!  Thus without further ado, here is my twist on PaleOMG's recipe, and then scroll to the bottom to see if I'm finally sold on the vegetable of doom.

Pumpkin Chicken Curry over Cauliflower Coconut Sticky "Rice"

Ingredients:

For the curry:
1 Tbsp coconut oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, diced
1 1/3 cups reduced fat coconut milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (make your own!)
5 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
salt & pepper to taste (the seeds I had were already salted, so I didn't add any additional salt)

For the "rice":
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 head of cauliflower, rough chopped
pinch salt
2/3 cup reduced fat coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened, finely shredded coconut
2 tsp local honey

In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp coconut oil over medium high heat. Once oil is melted, add in cubes of chicken and garlic.  Once the chicken is white on all sides, add in onion and saute until chicken begins to brown.

Deglaze pan with coconut milk and then stir in pumpkin, mixing well to break up any clumps.  Stir in spices and pumpkin seeds, taste to determine if salt & pepper is needed.  Pull from heat and set pan aside.

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender (if using a blender, you'll have to do this in stages) "rice" up the cauliflower until all the chunks are gone.

Heat remaining Tbsp coconut oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Add in riced cauliflower and  pinch of salt, stir and cover to allow cauliflower to steam for about 3 minutes.  Then add in milk, coconut and honey, stirring to fully incorporate.  Reduce heat, replace lid and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until milk is absorbed, taking care to stir a few times to make sure it's not burning on the bottom.

Serve cauliflower rice topped with the pumpkin curry.



Soooooooo, what did I think?  Did this finally sell me on cauliflower or do I possibly hate it even more than I did before. Let's just say after one bite, this was me...

Now this is the story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down.  And I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there.  I'll tell you how I feel in love with cauliflower!

That's right, it's official, it's almost 2 AM and I'm eating a dish with cauliflower all up in it and I LOVE it.  Now, this doesn't mean I'll start eating heads of cauliflower with wild abandon.  But it does mean that if I rice the heck out of it, coconut it up and add honey, then I can turn it into something that doesn't trip the "eww, ick, urgh, cauliflower, I'm dying, ahhhhh!" trigger.  So for those of you like me who've yet to find a preparation that doesn't make your skin crawl, then my friends, THIS is the recipe for you.