MARVELLOUS Minted Zucchini and Broccoli Rice

At the beginning of the week, I roast a ton of vegetables so I can use them for the next few days. I also plan out meals in advance. (Gail Simmons)

I’m a wee bit like Gail Simmons. On a Sunday night (usually), I’ll roast a massive bunch of veggies – sweet potato, pumpkin, onion, leek, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi – I don’t discriminate. Whatever is in season and in the pantry. I’ll add some seasoning – most often a combo’ of fresh rosemary (I adore rosemary!), a little garlic and salt and pepper. It’s part of my weekly cooking regime.

And, the roasted veggies last a few days. They can be added to salads, simply reheated or made into hash. They are a trusty stand by.

Last week the unthinkable happened. Just back from our summer holidays, I roasted a chook. And I burnt it. Thinking I was having an off day, the next night I attempted to slow cook a couple of shoulders of lamb. Burnt again.

I thought I had lost my cooking mojo…

And then LM suggested it might not be me, it might actually be our oven.

Over the weekend we trotted out to acquire an oven thermometer. And what do you know? – when I set the oven for 180° C, my thermometer read 280° C!!! LM was right!

I think our oven thermostat has blown. And now I’m waiting for an oven whisperer.

So, necessity being the mother of invention and all that…

It’s true. My weekly veggie roast off has meant I haven’t been experimenting with my veggies as often as I should. So, this week, because I am sans oven, I bring you my Minted Zucchini and Broccoli Rice.

I don’t want any vegetables, thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them for me. (Douglas Coupland)

Unlike Mr Coupland, I want LOTS of veggies in my day. I want extra veggies with my veggies.

And, unless you’ve been living under a rock in the past year or two, you’ll know that cauliflower rice has become a mainstay in the grain-free world as a rice alternative. It’s such a winner that conventional eaters have been adopting it as another way to eat veggies AND it has brought the humble cauliflower into the spotlight.

Suddenly cauliflower is sexy!

We eat an awful lot of cauliflower here at Casa TSL. It probably won’t surprise you to know that my favourite way to eat it is in fact: roasted.

But this week, I had some lovely organic broccoli and zucchini that I had picked up at the markets on Saturday. Clearly roasting is currently out. And the idea of stir-frying them wasn’t pushing my buttons. I hit upon the idea of ricing them like cauliflower…

And it works!

And although the recipe is not particularly difficult, there is some chopping involved. Namely of the zucchini. I didn’t actually test my theory, but I think whizzing the zucchini in your kitchen whiz might not work because of it’s high water content. Do let me know if you’re feeling adventurous…!

Anyhoo – don’t quote me on it, but in ‘chef-speak’, I think this fine chopping might be known as ‘brunoise’…

brunoise
noun
finely diced vegetables used to flavour soups and sauces.

Not a bad wee alternative to cauliflower rice!

[recipe title=”Minted Zucchini and Broccoli Rice” servings=”4 – 6-ish as a side” time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients:

1 x large onion
1 x large head of broccoli
2 x zucchini (I used one enormous one!)
2 x Tablespoon fat of choice (I used duck fat)
2 – 3 Tablespoons bone broth (water will do at a pinch)
a generous handful of mint, finely chopped
Salt
Freshly ground pepper (not for the elimination phase of AIP)
Optional: 1/4 cup activated almonds, chopped (not for the elimination phase of AIP)

Method:

After chopping up the cauliflower…

1. Wash and coarsely chop your broccoli. Throw it into your kitchen whiz (food processor) and pulse until ‘rice-like’ in texture

2. Dice your onion finely. Heat your fat in a large frypan. Add onion and saute on a low-medium heat until translucent.

3. While the onions are cooking, wash and finely dice your zucchini. When the onions are softened, add your zucchini and broccoli. Stir thoroughly.

4. Add your bone broth and season with salt.

5. Cover the pan for 7 – 8 minutes to allow the vegetables to cook through.

6. When cooked, stir through chopped mint. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with nuts (if tolerated).

E N J O Y ! [/recipe]

This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable