When I first started making my own sauces at home, I was envisioning pots simmering for hours on the stove to get the flavors just right. I’m sure there are recipes that call for this, but you won’t find them in my house! I stick to sauces like this cauliflower alfredo one that I can whip up in 30 minutes making them doable even on a busy weeknight.
There’s just something about a homemade sauce that tastes so much better than store-bought. Maybe it’s the lack of preservatives or knowing how to pronounce all the ingredients or simply the love that goes into making it that puts homemade sauces over the top. Whatever it is, I try to go for homemade over jarred sauce as much as I can.
If you’ve ever made cauliflower “rice” or “potatoes”, the directions for this sauce will look familiar to you. Once the florets are softened up in water, they can be mashed, grated, and even blended to suit your recipe. As it turns out, cauliflower is a pretty versatile vegetable. It also has an excellent nutrition profile – low in calories, high in potassium, a good source of fiber, and an excellent source of vitamin C.
Now this recipe calls for transferring your cauliflower mixture to a food processor to blend, but you can also use an immersion blender right in the pot. I have to say, one of my favorite new kitchen tools is our immersion blender. We received it as a gift this year and it has been so handy in making sauces and creamy soups.
Once the cauliflower is fork-tender, simply add the remaining ingredients to the pot and blend them up right on the stove. Be sure to remove the pot from the heat before doing this! I was amazed – and still am – at how well the tiny blades create a smooth texture from whole vegetables.
I also find the immersion blender much easier to clean than our food processor and anything that cuts down on clean-up time after dinner gets a thumbs-up from me.
If you really want to take it up a notch, there are some recipes for homemade almond flour noodles that look delicious. Disclaimer – I haven’t made these myself, but I do love almond flour for baking so I figure it would make good pasta too!
Now, if you’re anything like my husband, you’re probably going to be looking for a few more calories, especially from protein, if this cauliflower alfredo sauce with noodles is going to be a main dish. I recommend the old standby – chicken alfredo.
We like to season chicken breasts with a simple mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder and then grill them to have a nice char. The seasoning is enough to add some flavor without competing with the alfredo sauce and that grill char adds some welcome texture to the dish.
Other ingredients we like to mix in include mushrooms and broccoli. You really won’t find many additions that pair poorly with this sauce so feel free to add what you’ve already got at home!
(Make this next: Whole Cauliflower Braised in Tomato Sauce)
- 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
- 3 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 small onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup homemade chicken stock or water
- ½ cup almond milk
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper or to taste
- In a large saucepan heat the ghee or coconut oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the cauliflower florets and chicken stock or water and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is fork-tender.
- Transfer the mixture into a food processor, add the almond milk, salt and black pepper and process until smooth and creamy.
- Serve with your favorite noodles.
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