I wanted so badly to try this recipe with lobster.  Confession: I’ve never, ever cooked lobster before.  Admittedly, I was absolutely terrified because lobster is ungodly expensive and expensive stuff is crazy-hard to make and crazy-easy to f*ck up.  I don’t handle failure very well.

So I did it with shrimp…I’m such a cheater like that.  Whatever, go ahead and judge, because this stuff was good.

The risotto was more of a thought experiment at first…like, I know you can make “rice” out of cauliflower, but let’s take it a step further, shall we?  I positively adore a good, creamy dish of risotto…and even with a minimal ingredient list, this more than hit the spot.  I know it may look a little complicated, but it’s worth it.  The problem with risotto is that it’s rice-but-not-really.  The kinds of rice you use have an extra-high starch content that gets released into your broth as it cooks and creates the creaminess we all know and love.  Cauliflower…just doesn’t.  So, I came up with more of a sauce for my cauliflower rice and left it a little less cooked than normal so I could get a nice al dente texture underneath it all.

The highlight of this post really is the risotto, so you can season it and make it in any number of ways–either on its own as an appetizer like some people prefer or with any other variety of protein as an entree.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 Head Cauliflower

2 Cans Coconut Milk

1 T Arrowroot Powder, dissolved in 1 T Water

6 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 Onion, diced

1 lb Mushrooms, sliced thin

2 T Fresh Chives, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 t Oregano

1/4 t Basil

1/4 t Marjoram

1/4 t Thyme

Instructions

Chop the cauliflower into florets.  Place in a food processor and pulse until you have a rice-like consistency.  Set aside.

Add some butter or oil to a large saucepan or stockpot and saute the garlic and onion.  When the onions are soft, add the coconut milk, arrowroot powder, and seasoning.  Whisk constantly until slightly thickened, then add mushrooms and chives.  Stir for another minute or two so that the mushrooms soften slightly, then add the cauliflower and combine well.

Keep stirring and cooking until the cauliflower is soft but not mushy (true risotto is slightly al dente).  Serve alone or with anything you like…here’s mine with some shrimp sauteed in olive oil and Herbs de Provence!