Everyone is probably recovering from their turkey hangovers - or their actual hangovers, and yes I did eat a bagel with turkey, cheese, and mushrooms for breakfast. Ah, Jersey.
But I think this "cheater's" risotto could be a good way to use up some turkey, and if you don't want to go for mushrooms and rosemary, feel free to toss in those leftover vegetables and cranberry sauce as well. It could work. Or you could just make this later.
This isn't risotto. I'm not sure if cheater's risotto is an apt description either, but that's what I'm calling it.
Last week I made Pinch of Yum's creamy cauliflower sauce. Despite it not being super perfect, I saved half of the plain sauce before it became creamy sun-dried tomato pasta. I decided to make something completely different with it. Enter rosemary, mushrooms, and brown rice and you've actually got a very quick and hearty meal. No sitting over the stove stirring and adding liquid and stirring and adding liquid for this risotto. I'm normally too lazy for that kind of patience.
You're getting the creamy flavor from...
...cauliflower.
You have two options for this recipe. Use the cauliflower sauce, or just make pureed cauliflower. You're also going to be really happy about the rosemary. Cause rosemary is awesome.
Meat lovers can easily add some ground turkey or shredded chicken to this, but I'm not always a meat lover. Unless it's filet mignon. I'm into that.
Basically, I blended sauteed mushrooms, onions, and rosemary with cauliflower, then mixed it into the brown rice and added some cheese for cheesiness. It was a surprisingly big hit - and my rosemary-lovin' man helped himself to three servings. Yes, three.
Rosemary Mushroom Rice: Cheater's Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ onion sliced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bunch fresh rosemary about 2 tablespoons
- 5 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1 small to medium head cauliflower about 3-4 cups florets
- 1 cup uncooked rice
Instructions
- Bring broth to a boil and cook the cauliflower, covered, for about 5-8 minutes, or until tender.
- Meanwhile, using a large pan, sauté the onions and mushrooms together in the butter for about 8 minutes. Then add the rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for a couple more minutes.
- Drain cauliflower and set aside. Drain, not strain – save the broth. Prepare your rice as normal, but use the cauliflower broth and add about ¼ – ½ cup extra liquid than you’d normally use. (I used 3.5 cups broth to 1 cup rice.) Bring rice and broth to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 35 minutes or until all water has been absorbed.
- While the rice is cooking, add cooked cauliflower to blender in batches, along with about half of the mushroom mixture and ½ a cup of the extra broth.
- Mix the cauliflower into the cooked rice and add the mozzarella cheese (optional).
- Dish rice into bowls, top with the mushrooms and onions and a little parmesan cheese and serve!
Nutrition
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