Garlic Cauliflower Mashed “No-tatoes”

I was shocked when I tried this recipe… SHOCKED! I love mashed potatoes. Always a past-time at Grandma’s Sunday dinner (alongside her fried chicken, of course), present at every holiday get-together, the epitome of comfort food. It is hard not to love them. Well, I had a head of cauliflower one evening, had heard of this concept, and decided to play. A GREAT alternative to mashed potatoes for ANY occasion. And the two biggest holidays are just around the corner… Crazy, I know, but maybe this is a must try for those family shindigs! I’m addicted to these and I’m O.K. with that! Because my hubby was in for some comfort food this particular evening, we paired it with some “fried chicken”, HOWEVER, this chicken was battered with an EGG WASH and some ALMOND FLOUR – totally gluten-free, grain-free. Just lightly fried up in some olive oil at a moderate heat, and it made a nice fried-like coating, perfect complement to the mashed “no-tatoes” 🙂

1 head Cauliflower, cut into florets
5 large cloves of Garlic (using pre-peeled garlic makes this easiest)
To taste – Salt
2 tablespoons of Grass-Fed Butter (preferably organic)
To taste – Black Pepper

Let’s get mashin’….

Fill up a large stock pot with a couple inches of water and set on stove on high, using a steamer insert in the pot, and cover with a lid. While you wait for the water to start boiling, cut up the florets and stems of the large head of cauliflower. Then, slice up the cloves of garlic. It’s easiest to use already peeled garlic that you can grab at most markets, but you can peel your own if you’d rather. Once the water is boiling, throw into the pot the stems, half of florets, and garlic. Salt everything liberally. At this point, put in the rest of the cauliflower, season with a bit more salt, replace the lid, and steam everything until it is soft, approximately 10 minutes. Test with fork to make sure the veggies are tender and don’t need to steam longer. Once the florets are done, put everything into a colander and let it drain. Once done draining, place everything into a food processor and add some black pepper and the butter. Process everything until smooth. Taste test for seasoning adequacy. Serve right away, place on a very low heat in a crock pot/warmer OR low heat on stove, to keep warm for ongoing enjoyment (at if at a gathering, etc.)

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