I thought I’d focus on holiday vegetable recipes today to wrap up my “it’s-not-a-boring-diet ” recipe extravaganza. This recipe has proven to be one of the most popular ones on my website. It was a real hit with my brother, at one time an executive chef at Top-of-the-Mark in San Francisco. My husband just loves it! It also has hundreds of thousands of fans on Facebook (I used to post there) so I thought I should definitely include it today. It’s one of my all-time favorite cauliflower creation!
Smoked Gouda doesn’t melt in dry heat easily, but if shredded, it usually melts acceptable when surrounded by moist heat, above and below. In this dish, it takes an ordinary cheesy cauliflower casserole and transforms it into the sublime. The Smoked Gouda truly sets this one apart from all the other cauliflower casseroles you have tasted. It’s Atkins Induction friendly, too!
I buy my Smoked Gouda at Sam’s Club and have discovered, not all stores carry quality Smoked Gouda. The brand I bought in San Antonio at my mother’s grocery store was just awful….totally tasteless. This recipe appears in Volume 1 of Low Carbing Among Friends by best-selling author Jennifer Eloff and other talented chefs, including George Stella! There are 5 volumes already released and two more due out soon! More info on their Facebook page linked above. You can order our cookbooks here or at Amazon.com. These cookbooks are filled with easy, gluten-free, tasty low-carb creations by a group of very creative cooks. You’re going to WANT your very own set of these cookbooks, folks. They are currently on sale at the lowest price ever, so get yours TODAY!
INGREDIENTS: 1 medium-large head cauliflower
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, grated or shredded
¼ tsp. coarse black pepper
chopped chives or green onion to garnish
DIRECTIONS: Cut up cauliflower into manageable pieces and boil or steam until tender. Drain off any water and mash the chunks up slightly with a fork (do not puree, however). Stir in softened cream cheese until it is melted and blended well. Grease glass casserole dish and spoon half the cauliflower mixture in. Sprinkle with half the grated smoked Gouda (I do not recommend using slices for this. Grate it to facilitate melting). Spoon remaining cauliflower into dish and top with rest of Gouda cheese. Sprinkle with just a dash of salt and pepper if desired, but cheese has a lot of sodium. If you are sodium sensitive, I wouldn’t add ANY salt. Sometimes I add some chopped chives or green onion to the top, but this is not in the nutritional info below. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 6, each serving contains: (you may get 8 servings, lowering carbs even more)
190 cals, 15.22g fat, 6.17g carbs, 2.4g fiber, 3.77g NET CARBS, 8.77g protein, 312 mg sodium