Healthy Bacon & Cauli "Macaroni Cheese"
Ooh Yea Baby - it's Super Yummy Healthy Macaroni Cheese - but gluten and dairy free.
Thanks to Perchance to Cook for this delicious recipe. It's actually called a Cauliflower & Bacon Au Gratin (oooh, fancy), but to my kid's it's called Macaroni Cheese - they've forgotten what Macaroni is from their 'past life', so I've been able to convince them that this is it. You know how I like to fool them.
I added in some cooked chopped potatoes to ours, because the teenager almost eat's as much as Builder Hubby, so needed to beef it up a bit (you could use kumara or pumpkin instead).
Also another option is to bake the cauliflower instead of steaming - gives it a whole other dimension of sweetness.
Anyway, it's blimmin' lovely - give it a go!
PS - go for Ayam or Aroy-d or Ceres Organic coconut cream - no added nasties.
Ingredients
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1 head of cauliflower
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1 Tbs minced garlic
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1/2 cup of minced shallots or onion
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2 tsp coconut oil (or lard/butter etc - not vegetable/rice oils)
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1 cup canned coconut cream
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1/2 cup organic chicken stock/bone broth (click here for a bone broth recipe)
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1/2 tsp salt
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1/4 tsp pepper
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1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
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2 tsp coconut flour
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4-5 strips of nitrate-free bacon, chopped (Henderson's or Sausages By Design are good brands)
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Optional-1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese (skip to make strictly Paleo). Chopped cooked potato.
Method
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
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Cut the cauliflower head into smaller cauliflower florets.
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Fill a big pot of water, put a dash of salt it in, and heat over high heat until the water boils. Put the cauliflower florets into the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the cauliflower and set aside.
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Put 2 tsp of coconut oil into a saute pan and heat over medium heat. Cook the bacon. Put the minced shallots/onion and garlic into the pan and cook for 4 minutes.
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Add the coconut cream, chicken stock, salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg to the pan.
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Whisk the coconut flour into the mixture.
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Increase the heat to medium/high heat and let the mixture boil for 5 minutes, while mixing often. Remove from heat and set the saute pan aside.
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Put the cauliflower into the sauce, mix with a spatula and then pour everything into an 8 X 8 inch pan (stir in cooked potato too).
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Put the pan into the oven, and cook the cauliflower for 20 minutes.
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Then, set the oven to grill.
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If you are adding goat cheese, remove the cauliflower from the oven and top with the crumbled goat cheese.
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Then grill the cauliflower (with or without goat cheese) for 5 minutes. Make sure to check on it regularly to make sure it doesn't burn.
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Allow the cauliflower to cool for a bit, serve, and Enjoy!