It was very cold last week in the UK, so I mostly had comforting winter warmer dishes which were nourishing to help me warm up, while maintaining my resilience to not just seasonal colds, but also coronavirus. I had soup on a few occasions, including my homemade Carrot and Parsnip Soup and Roasted Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup which were in the freezer. I made a slow cooker beef stew for Valentine’s Day yesterday as my boyfriend loves it (I referred to the BBC’s Good Food recipe for guidance).
Another comforting and nourishing dish I made last week was a Vegetable Stew with Cauliflower Rice. I had some cauliflower which needed using up. At first I was tempted to make a quiche with a cauliflower crust, but I decided to go with rice in the end as it’s something I’ve always wanted to try. I also had plenty of vegetables to make a stew, so it was the perfect combination. Originally it was supposed to be a Vegetable Chilli, but I couldn’t taste any spice so I’ve called it a stew instead.
I made the stew first, using a variety of vegetables including red and white onions, carrots, red pepper, mushrooms, cannellini beans and mixed red and white kidney beans. I finely chopped two red onions, one white onion and two large cloves of garlic, and cooked on a medium heat in a large pan with olive oil until the onions and garlic softened. I then peeled and chopped three large carrots into chunks, and added to the pan along with the chopped red pepper. Once the carrots and pepper had softened (after about ten minutes), I poured in two tins of chopped tomatoes and added four large chopped chestnut mushrooms. I then added about two tsbp of Worcestershire sauce, two tbsp of tomato puree, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, a tsp of cinnamon and two tsp of mild chilli powder. The chilli powder was the ingredient to make it a chilli, but I’ll have to use more next time, or even use fresh chilli or chilli flakes. After a good stir, I left the stew to gently simmer for 30 minutes.
While the stew was simmering, I drained and rinsed a tin of cannellini beans and a tin of mixed kidney beans. Once the stew had been simmering for 30 minutes, I added the beans and left to simmer for a further 15 minutes. The stew was then ready, so I left it on a low heat to keep warm while I made the cauliflower rice.
To make the cauliflower rice, I cut a large head of cauliflower into small florets. I then added the florets into a food processor and mixed until there was a grainy consistency, which didn’t take long at all (probably about five seconds). The cauliflower looked more like couscous as the pieces of blended cauliflower were very small. I had consulted a few recipes before making the cauliflower rice and the majority of them suggest to drain as much moisture as possible, otherwise the cauliflower can become sticky and stodgy. To do this, I microwaved the cauliflower in a glass bowl for three minutes. After leaving it to cool for a bit, I placed the cauliflower in a tea towel and squeezed out as much moisture as I could.
After draining the cauliflower, I cooked it in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil over a medium heat for about five minutes. This step was to just to lightly warm and cook the cauliflower before serving with the vegetable stew. Once the cauliflower rice was ready, I placed a serving into a large bowl along with a nice helping of the vegetable stew on top. Bon appétit!
As I mentioned before, this dish was originally intended to be a vegetable chilli however, it tasted nice as it was. The cauliflower rice tasted a bit bland on its own, but it was pleasant enough when mixed in with the stew. Next time I might add some flavour to the cauliflower rice, such as a sprinkle of lemon or lime juice. I felt great after eating this meal, as it was very nutritious and heart warming. I made a large pot of the stew, so there’s plenty in the freezer to keep me going through the cold weather, and this current pandemic.
Happy reading and blogging, and stay safe!
Clare Bear 🙂 xx
Clare Bear 