Spring Vegetable Cauliflower Risotto with Pan-Seared Salmon

Do you ever look in your fridge to find remnants of random vegetables that are well on their way to expiration? I know that I sure do. This Spring Vegetable Cauliflower Rice Risotto is a healthy and resourceful way to use up all the various vegetables hiding at the bottom of your refrigerator or stashed away in the back of your freezer. By using cauliflower instead of the arborio rice used in a traditional risotto, this dish becomes significantly less “carby”, less heavy, and more healthy. Plus, it takes significantly less time to cook, making it the perfect spring or summer dinner night dish.

Customizing Your Cauliflower Risotto

I hate wasting food. So I do my best to use all the produce I purchase before it goes bad, which can be a challenge since I live alone and sometimes fail to plan my meals in advance. Because risotto is so versatile, you can literally throw in just about any vegetable, and it will be delicious, which makes it the perfect vehicle for need-to-use veggies. Asparagus, which is in season during the spring in Illinois, is the star of this cauliflower risotto. I also had a bunch of leftover dill, so I added that to the mix as well. I always add onions to my risottos, so I threw those bad boys in there, along with some frozen peas. And boom, we’re in business, folks.

Spring Vegetable Cauliflower Risotto in Photos

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Making the Spring Vegetable Cauliflower Risotto

If you have ever made risotto, you know that it is quite laborious and time-consuming. Because cauliflower takes less time to cook than rice, this dish requires less time and effort, which in my book is a winning situation. I make the cauliflower rice risotto similarly to the way I make a traditional rice risotto, except I did not use white wine (didn’t have any), and I used less stock.

Step-by-Step Instructions

• First, preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Cut your asparagus about 2/3 of the way down the stalk to remove the fibrous bottoms. Place asparagus stalks on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Lightly salt after removing from oven.
• Next, sauté the chopped onion (cut of the onion depends on your preference – I don’t mind bigger pieces of onion throughout my risotto) and garlic in about 2 tbs of heated olive oil. Begin heating the stock in a separate sauce pan
• Add the riced cauliflower to the pan. You can buy pre-riced cauliflower at the grocery store or you can rice your own by adding cauliflower florets to a food processor and blending until you have rice-sized pieces. In a pinch, you could even use frozen riced cauliflower that has been cooked in the microwave, but this version would absorb and require less stock.
• Once the cauliflower becomes slightly translucent, about 2 minutes, add about 1/4 c of the hot stock and stir. Once the stock has been absorbed by the cauliflower, add another 1/4 c of stock and stir. Repeat process until all stock has been utilized.
• Add in your frozen peas and stir until peas are warmed.
• Chop the cooked asparagus into small pieces and add to the cauliflower mix. Add the chopped dill, heavy cream, and parmesan.