Spring Cauli-Risotto
Not a big Easter person, but if anything it’s one day I mark as necessity to have a holiday meal. Like something curated & cute & a true occasion meal that calls for family style serving & sitting at the table. Easter is such a fun holiday to meal plan for because you can drift from the typical “holiday menu” - a big roast + mashed potatoes + all that other bullshit - & have a little fun with it. I always like to do something Spring time appropriate - lots of summer inspired salads and fresh produce to have something on the lighter side that still feels fancy-ish. Plus the weather is so nice, the urge to dust off my patio furniture & jump right into backyard bbq season is strong. We did not have a backyard barbecue for Easter (though we did grill burgers the night before), but we did have a refreshing, warm weather appropriate, Spring meal, & I feel like this Spring Cauli-Risotto is the perfect meal to mark the commencement of Spring meals 2020.
We have also spent the weekend laboring in the backyard. Admittedly my husband more-so than I since outdoor chores really are not my forté - but I was in it this go around! I made a promise to myself to just get shit done, so Airpods in + a few episodes of My Favorite Murder as my soundtrack, I was powering through the weed picking & actively helping transform the yard. Trust me, it’s a large improvement to my usual strategy of keep myself busy inside our home to 100% avoid backyard management. But not this time. I had the drive to be helpful, & the result - a much improved outdoor space that is READY for lounging, drinking morning coffee, and truly using as an extension of our actual home. Just weed picking and actively recovering the yard from the Winter elements made a huge difference. I mean at one point we both just stood at our sliding glass door and stared in admiration at our backyard, which admittedly is pretty average (but we like it!), & that Spring time PNW sun shining on our revived space had us entranced.
So back to our Easter menu. Jordan said to me early last week that pasta sounded pretty good for an Easter menu, and that sounded great to me. Spring pasta dishes as the BEST. The new seasonal veggies, the herbs, the light sauces - all add up to some v-good Italian dinners on the lighter side. For this one I dusted off one of my favorite Paleo tricks, and that’s repurposing riced cauliflower into “risotto.” Hence the whole cauli-risotto thing. But I do want to be clear that the whole cauliflower in place of risotto is where the Paleo inspirations start & end. Yes it veggie heavy, but it is creamy & cheesy & pretty damn decadent.
The cheese of all Italian cheeses that is perfect for Spring meals, melts perfectly & is so damn good I could slather copious amounts of it on a fresh baguette & be totally content - mascarpone. Ohhhh my god I am OBSESSED with this stuff and any recipe that calls for it is a-okay in my book. But in cauli-risotto, literally melting it into the dish & letting the mascarpone become this luscious sauce for the risotto. It’s heavenly. & that’s just cheese no. 1! Like I said - the sauce is in no way Paleo friendly. Anyhow, pairing creamy mascarpone with salty and sharp parmesan for a little balance - it’s to die.
Because the risotto is all veggies, I feel like it balances out a pretty over the top cheesy sauce. But really this whole thing is like a skillet of veggies, featuring the BEST Spring veggie - asparagus. Asparagus is like the shining star of this party. You leave the spears in pretty large chunks so they stand out in a bed of rice sized cauliflower & leeks, & getting a forkful of asparagus with the creamy risotto is the best bite. You cook the asparagus with the cauliflower so it also gets coated in the mascarpone cheese sauce, & it’s a very delightful little pairing.
I also really liked how kind of elegant this looked when it all came together. Super light in color with so much green. The light green hue from the leeks & bright green pops from the asparagus & the fresh herbs. So cute on simple white plate (& you can even serve it family style on a large white platter). I mean - I thought it looked impressive, and if I was at someone’s house & this is what they put on the table, I’d be jazzed! So I’m placing this meal in category of recreate when we have friends over for a Summer BBQ because it’s so damn good. Nothing needed for decor other than a checkered pink table runner (ordered from Amazon) & just us two to ring in Easter with good eats. It was definitely the quietest Easter we’ve had in a few years, but it was perfect.
Pro-tip: Serve alongside this Tricolore Salad (recipe inspired by GIada - my girl!). It’s one of my most favorite salads ever, & what’s pictured in these photos. It’s the perfect light salad pairing for the main course.
For the Cauli-risotto
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
4 tbsp butter
2-3 leeks (I used 3 large leeks), sliced
1 bag of TJs cauliflower Risotto
1/2 c. Pinot Grigio (or dry white wine alternative)
2 c. chicken broth
Salt & pepper
pinch of garlic powder
1/2 c. mascarpone cheese
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
a heaping 1/4 c. of fresh chives, plus a little extra for garnish
Using your largest skillet, fill it half way with water and bring to a boil. Add in the trimmed asparagus, cook for 2 minutes, and place in a bath of ice water. Set aside. Wipe the skillet dry and return over medium heat.
Add butter to the skillet. Melt, and add in the leeks. Cook over medium heat for about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the cauliflower rice, letting it toast and cook with the leeks for 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine, and bring to a simmer keeping the skillet uncovered. Once the liquid has evaporated, add in the chicken broth. Continue to let simmer, and cook for another 15 minutes or so. Liquid should be totally cooked off by then. Reduce the heat to medium low. Mix in a pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add in the mascarpone and parmesan, gently stirring the cauliflower so as the mascarpone melts. Once the cheese has melted into the cauliflower, add the asparagus back into the skillet. Stir, reduce the heat to low, & cover the skillet. Let cook for any addition 7 minutes or so to bring the asparagus up to temp.
Last step - uncover the skillet & stir in the fresh chives. Serve it up in bowls with a little extra sprinkle of chives & parm.