CauliBread

Prep Time:  15 minutes                 Cook Time: 15 minutes                    Add to MyFitnessPal

Several of you have already met BariBread. BariBread was nice. It seemed to like you and you had similar interests. The two of you could hang out on weekends - at least, that is, if you didn't have anything else going on. But given the chance to hang out with CarboBread again, you'd have jumped at the chance. It wasn't that BariBread wasn't meeting your needs, but maybe BariBread lost some of its luster after the first 200 slices. Maybe you're looking for something with a little more body, something you can really heat up instead - or maybe you even want to keep BariBread on the side for when you're in the mood, but just need a little variety in your life.

Friends, meet CauliBread - the perfect companion for BariBread to add body & heat things up.


Wait, you can make grilled cheese with it?

Oh yes, you can! I've used this bread to make grilled cheese, grilled ham & cheese, egg & ham barimuffins, tuna melts, even lobster rolls (yes, lobster rolls) with this one. This is a bread that can handle the heat. It can also take a bit of a beating whether spreading cold chunky peanut butter or dipping it into olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

This recipe is one I stumbled upon while trying to figure out the recipe to get my 1:1:1 Pizza Crust just right. It didn't quite work for Pizza, but I noticed that it held together differently and I figured I'd give it a try on the stovetop. Next thing I knew, I was enjoying grilled cheese with tomato soup (coming soon). WOW! I thought these foods were gone for good - boy was I wrong.

Ingredients:
Egg - 1
Cauliflower - 3 cups
Mozzarella, shredded - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp (UPDATE: omit the salt if using storebought mozzarella, it's plenty salty)
Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 450 F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
Rice  your cauliflower - you don't want to blend it to a paste, but pulsing it in the food processer should get you a consistency close to that of rice.

Beginning

Once you've got your cauliflower riced, pop it, covered, into the microwave for anywhere between 3 and 8 minutes depending on your microwave. You want it about the texture of cooked oatmeal (a little softer than rice). Allow to cool back to handleable temperature and put into a clean tea towel.

Middle

Wrap the cauliflower tightly and squeeze until you can't easily get any more water out. I usually get anywhere from 1-2 cups of water depending on how fresh my cauliflower is.

End

Once you've squeezed the life out of your cauliflower, break up the CauliBall and mix in the remaining ingredients until thoroughly mixed. This may take a few minutes as your mixture is going to be fairly dry but it is essential you get it mixed evenly.

After your dough is put together, divide into 6 equal portions on a lined baking sheet. The dough is stiff enough you can form into almost any shape, I find the simple square shape to be the most comforting and reminiscent of childhood. Bonus points to anyone who makes theirs in star shapes and still eats the resulting sandwich cleanly.

Raw - be patient before eating

Bake for roughly 15 minutes until golden brown - you'll be surprised at how dark these can get without burning, so don't stress too much if you hit 16, 17 or even 18 minutes. Hey, you might even prefer it at those baking times.

Remove from the oven but do not attempt to remove the slices until they've cooled to room temperature - their shape and toughness are solidifying here, don't disturb it.

Once cool to the tough, use the bread as you would any other toast. It can be fried, soaked, grilled, baked, or eaten as-is. This time around I wanted grilled cheese, even if I only had mozzarella on hand. Oh, and this bread is perfect for dipping in tomato soup!

Surprisingly perfect

Nutrition per slice:
Calories - 49
Fat - 2 g
Carbs - 3 g
Protein - 4 g
Sodium - 283