Cauliflower purees are mock potatoes made from cauliflower! They’re low carb and absolutely delicious with brown butter.
I laughed at our last holiday dinner when my sister announced, “These are the best mashed potatoes ever!” only to find out she was eating mashed cauliflower.
Cauliflower mashed potatoes have been around for a while, and if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, I encourage you to try them!
In this version, we first steam-cook the cauliflower in salted water, then drain and puree. While the cauliflower is cooking, let’s brown some butter on the side to mash with the cauliflower. Do you ever make brown butter? It’s easy to make and brings a warm, nutty, deep buttery flavor to everything it touches.
The addition of sour cream provides some spiciness and helps make the cauliflower puree smoother.
The result? Stunning! Seriously good. For example, I’ll pass on the potatoes, just give me some more of the cauliflower puree well.
Cauliflower puree “potatoes” with brown butter
Cauliflower varies in size. If you’re working with a cauliflower that’s larger or smaller than 1 1/4 pounds, increase or decrease the amount of butter and sour cream you need to add.
ingredients
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1 big cauliflower (about 1 1/4 pounds or 565 g), seeded, cut into large florets (see Cutting and Deseeding the Cauliflower)
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1 cup (235ml) water
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1/2 teaspoon Salt
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2 tablespoon butter
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4 tablespoons (60ml) sour cream
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Chopped chivesSpring onions and/or parsley for garnish
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Salt and pepper, taste
method
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Steaming/cooking cauliflower:
Put 1 cup of water in a medium-sized saucepan. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the cauliflower florets.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cover the cauliflower and let it cook until very tender, 10-14 minutes.
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Fry butter:
While the cauliflower is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan (it’s easier to use a stainless steel skillet so you can see the browning) over medium-high heat.
As the butter melts, it will start to foam up a bit. When the foam subsides, look for amber bits forming at the bottom of the pan.
When the butter starts to brown, smell it. It will have a nice nutty aroma.
When you can see lots of brown spots and the melted butter smells wonderful, remove from the heat and pour into a bowl (glass or metal).
Butter can go from browned to burnt quickly, so keep an eye on it and work fast when the butter starts to brown! (See our more in-depth guide to browning butter.)
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Strain the cooked cauliflower:
When the cauliflower is cooked through and tender enough to mash with a fork, strain off all but a tablespoon or two of the remaining water.
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Mash with a potato masher and stir in the brown butter and sour cream:
(Be sure to scrape any browned bits out of the butter; this is where the flavor is!)
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Blend to desired consistency:
Use an immersion blender or stand mixer and puree the mashed potatoes as smooth as you like. Or just mash more with a potato masher if you like a chunky texture.
Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped chives, spring onions or parsley to serve.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 126 | calories |
| 9g | Fat |
| 9g | carbohydrates |
| 4g | protein |
