cauliflower – Oven Love

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping (GAPS, Paleo, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Option)

Natalie — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 05:07:53 +0000

Good morning, hello, how are you?

I made you some pie.

But first, let’s talk about blogging for a minute.

Food blogging is a funny little part of my life. Most people I come in contact with in “real life” don’t even know I do it; whereas you guys only know about what gets posted here, only this little shared piece of me. Sometimes I feel like my head is bursting with ideas and all I want to do is camp out in the kitchen, test things out and share them with you. Other times, blogging is just off my radar completely. We just go about our business as a family for a while and suddenly (usually during a bang-up meal) I realize that I haven’t been blogging.

Blogging has changed a lot in the past five years. Heck, my life has changed a lot in the past five years. When I first started blogging, I did it because I really enjoyed baking and cooking and documenting what was going on in my kitchen. I had no kids, I had plenty of time. Then the blog grew a little bit and I started to put more importance on posting however-many-times a week, making sure I was hitting up social media and doing all the “right stuff” as a blogger. And I went through a period where I felt really guilty if I wasn’t keeping all of those things going. Spoiler Alert: I can not keep all that stuff going. haha

Now, I’m a mom of two, working on putting together a new house and making it a home. You better believe I have been churning out some great meals for my family that I’d love to share, but I just got out of the groove of setting up photos. Lots of good meals have gone undocumented. Sometimes I still feel guilty for not sharing all of that good stuff with you guys, but realistically, I know that you understand that I have a real life to live outside this slice of the web. So, just thanks for being awesome and going with the flow.

I’ll start talking about the pie now.

This Shepherd’s Pie wasn’t some long-thought-out plan to reduce potato consumption or GAPS-ify a classic recipe. I just had a head of cauliflower and some ground beef that needed using and this is what happened. I saw it coming out of the oven all bubbly and brown and my brain said, “Take a picture, fast, and then let’s eat this thing!”

Cauliflower is like the classic nerd-that-turns-popular story, am I right? People never really gave it much thought before, but now it is everywhere! Cauliflower pizza crusts and faux-tatoes and cauli-rice galore. Good for you, cauliflower. Enjoy your 15 minutes of vegetable fame. You and your versatility deserve it.

This is similar to a classic Shepherd’s Pie, just with the potatoes swapped for cauliflower. I did add cheese on the top, but you can leave it off if you must. If you’re on the fence, though, definitely leave it on- it’s awesome. I used extra sharp cheddar. Treat Yo’ Self.

Perfect meal for fall, you guys! Dinner on the table in about an hour. What’s not to love?

4.9 from 18 reviews

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Topping (GAPS, Paleo, Grain-Free)

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, coconut oil, etc)
1 small onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef or lamb
¼-1/2 cup homemade beef broth
1 tablespoon homemade ketchup or tomato paste (omit if you don’t have a GAPS-legal or Paleo option)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow, ghee, etc)
½ cup shredded GAPS-legal cheese (omit for Paleo)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish and set aside.
In a large pot, steam or boil cauliflower until tender.
Heat 2 tablespoons of fat in a large skillet or saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until beginning to soften, around 5 minutes.
Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until browned. Add beef broth as necessary to keep the mixture wet. Add the ketchup or tomato paste (if using), parsley and season with salt and pepper. Let simmer while you prepare the cauliflower topping.
To make the topping, drain the cooked cauliflower. Mash or puree with a stick blender until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of fat and season with salt and pepper.
To assemble, spread the meat mixture on the bottom of the dish. Top with the cauliflower mixture and smooth with a spoon. Cover with shredded cheese, if using.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Serve warm.

Lamb Meatballs (gluten-free, grain-free, paleo) with Yogurt Dip and Spiced Vegetables

Natalie — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 19:57:00 +0000

This new style of eating has been an adjustment. It’s hard to wrap my head around new rules for meal-planning and eating. So much of my day is spent thinking about food, and planning out when and what we’re going to eat and making grocery lists. I know it’s not permanent (I mean, I hope! Ack!) and I know it’s going to help to heal my stomach, but it is mentally draining.

This meal is one of my first attempts at branching out from the plain-meat-and-veg dinner. I am semi-obsessed with meatballs lately, so when I saw ground lamb at Publix I had to grab it. It was exxxxpensive, but it made delicious meatballs.

When I was combining the meatball mixture, I wasn’t sure they would come together without some kind of binder. I swore by panko or soaked bread in my old meatball recipes and that obviously wasn’t happening, so I grabbed some coconut flour- my new BFF. It’s basically magic, that stuff. It soaked up the extra moisture right away.

To go along with the lamb, I made a quick yogurt dip in the food processor with mint and feta cheese. I hadn’t ever had the mint/feta combo, but it is surprisingly delicious. A little goes a long way for me (as usual when it comes to dips and sauces), but I’m a fan.

I also roasted up some cauliflower and carrots in spices that compliment the lamb- oregano, garlic, parsley.. as well as some cinnamon, cloves, allspice and a touch of cumin. You don’t have to add the “sweeter” spices, but I like the way they taste when paired with the lamb.

I had my meatballs and veggies over a salad; hubs made pita sandwiches. The kids gobbled up the veggies in no time. I feel like I finally had a win in the kitchen after weeks of scraping by.. not really knowing what to eat or serve my family. Huge sigh of relief!

Lamb Meatballs (gluten-free, grain-free, paleo) with Yogurt Dip and Spiced Vegetables

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish, Appetizer

Serves: 8

Ingredients

½ onion, peeled
handful of parsley (maybe ¼-1/3 cup packed?)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 pound ground lamb
1 egg
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 tablespoon oregano
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon cloves cloves
salt and pepper to taste
Feta Yogurt Dip (below), Spiced Vegetables (below), pita bread, salad greens, etc for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine onion, parsley and garlic. Process until finely diced.
In a large mixing bowl, combine onion mixture, lamb, egg, coconut flour and spices until well combined. Form into meatballs and line up on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with feta yogurt dip, spiced vegetables, pita bread, or whatever you like. (If you’d like the meatballs to be even more brown, turn on the broiler for 5 minutes and them pull them out).

Feta Yogurt Dip

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Condiment

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

4 ounces feta cheese
⅓ cup yogurt, plus extra if you like a thinner dip
2 sprigs fresh mint
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Instructions

In a food processor, combine feta, yogurt, mint and vinegar/lemon juice. Process until smooth. If the dip isn’t smooth enough for you, add some more yogurt until you reach your desired consistency. Serve with the lamb meatballs.

Spice Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

These can bake in the oven at the same time as the lamb meatballs.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Side Dishes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
5-6 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley or a few sprigs freshly chopped parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
¼ teaspoon cloves, optional
¼ teaspoon allspice, optional
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine the vegetables, olive oil and spices. Spread on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes until beginning to brown. Serve warm.

Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup

Natalie — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 17:18:00 +0000

[This post has been updated from the Oven Love archives.]

This soup is exceptional.

Exceptional!

It’s so good that every fall for the last four years, we’ve remembered it and had to have it again. You know how rare it is for me to make a recipe twice.. so I think this is going to be a Herr family favorite.

There is nothing more satisfying than a creamy soup on a cool night, am I right? The roasted garlic in this thing is no joke- so, so good- do not skip that step! If it weren’t for the garlic breath, I would eat a head of roasted garlic every. single. day. (TMI?)

The soup is filling as a meal all it’s own, but makes a great starter for a holiday spread as well. And I just love the roasted cauliflower florets on top with their cheesy, herbaceous flavor. Great presentation for company, but also a perfect supper to share with your family.

Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

via Martha Stewart Recipes serves 10-12 This recipe is for a crowd (think holidays)- but can be easily halved and it’s freezable, too.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Soup

Serves: 12

Ingredients

3 heads garlic
salt and pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 white onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 heads cauliflower, 3 cored and thinly sliced and 1 broken into florets
8 sprigs thyme, tied with twine, plus one tablespoon chopped (you can sub. 1T dried thyme)
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken stock, plus more to thin, if desired
2 cups heavy cream, plus more to thin, if desired
2½ cups plus 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut off the tops of garlic heads. Place each on a piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap tightly in foil, and bake until garlic is very soft, about an hour. Let cool. Squeeze garlic from peel; set aside. Increase oven to 350 degrees.
Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until soft but not browned. Stir in sliced cauliflower, thyme and wine. Simmer until wine is reduced by half. Add stock, bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove cover and simmer until cauliflower is soft, about 15 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
Remove thyme bundle and stir in cream and 2½ cups Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in garlic. Puree with a stick blender or in batches until smooth. Thin with more stock or cream, if desired. Return to pot; keep warm on low heat.
Heat remaining ¼ cup olive oil over high heat in a saute pan until almost smoking. Add cauliflower florets, stirring until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer pan to oven and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in thyme, parsley and remaining 3 tablespoons Parmesan. To serve; ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cauliflower florets.