Sam is working late tonight (and by working I mean dining at 4th and Swift) so I'm sitting here watching The Biggest Loser and writing this. Tears streaming down my face. Such a powerful show! I have been crying so much lately. Have you seen Being Elmo? GO and watch it now. An incredible story (that also brought on the tears) about the man behind the beloved character.
In an effort to experiment in the kitchen, we've been trying out some new recipes. I really wanted to try the cauliflower rice again. The trick to making it in a blender is to drop the cauliflower on to a running blade from the top of the blender, instead of putting it all in the blender and then starting the motor. It creates these little grainy pieces of "rice." So cool. I spotted a recipe for Broccoli Rabe Pesto with Whole-Wheat Pasta and Spicy Turkey Sausage in this month's Whole Living and wanted to replace the noodles with the cauliflower and it was amazing. We only made a few changes.
Turkey Sausage with Pesto and Cauliflower Rice
You will need:
bunch of broccoli
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan (plus extra for serving)
1/3 cup plus 1 T EVOO, plus more for drizzling
juice of one lemon
1 t herbs de provence
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 pound spicy turkey sausage, sliced 3/4" thick
one head of cauliflower
Preheat oven to 350.
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanche broccoli until tender (about one minute). Reserving cooking water, transfer broccoli to an ice-water bath until cool, then drain.
2. Pulse broccoli, pine nuts, parmesan, lemon, and herbs in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped. Drizzle in olive oil and process until smooth.
3. Slice cauliflower and place on baking sheet, drizzle with oil and bake until tender. You could also sautee the cauliflower.
4. Heat remaining T oil over medium-high heat. Brown sausage, turning, until cooked through. 5-7 minutes.
5. Drop cauliflower pieces through the top of the blender to create "rice" textured pieces of cauliflower. You could also use a food processor.
6. Toss "rice" with pesto and turkey sausage, as well as the reserved 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid. Topp with red pepper flakes or parmesan. I layered the dish over some super greens. Enjoy!
