Fake Potatoes- REAL tasty

Fake Potatoes- REAL tasty

I will be totally honest. I LOVE MY TATERS. I love the starch, the flavor, the versatility, the peeling once it has been slathered in butter, sprinkled in salt and pepper and baked.... YUMMM YUMMM!

So when I kept seeing people replacing taters for cauliflower I was very, very leery. I like cauliflower just fine. I eat it raw or cooked, plain or dripping with butter or cheese or ranch dressing. But if I had to describe the flavor of cauliflower it would not include any of the attributes of my favored tater.

Oh, I am sure there is health benefits, but I am focused on flavor here..... because that is where it is at as far as I am concerned. 

Picture you say...hmmm well I didn't make this dish with the intention of posting about I made it to eat. So I didn't even think to try to make a photo of it. After I licked the serving bowl clean I thought about taking a picture of the bowl but alas I didn't think everyone would appreciate it. 

So here is a random photo of a cauliflower. : )

I made a version of mashed potatoes that we love with a few substitutions ....you guessed it! Cauliflower oh yeah and zucchini.

Here is my recipe:

I used one bag of frozen cauliflower- you could use fresh if you like

2 medium zucchini peeled and diced

2 TBSP. water

put this all in a pot, cook over medium heat until everything is soft, fork tender. 

Once all is cooked add the following:

1 - 8 ounce square of cream cheese at room temp

1/2 cup paremsan cheese (the stuff in the green shaker bottle)

2 TBSP chives

1 TBSP butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

Once everything is melted and combined I took my tater masher to the cauliflower and zucchini. Cauliflower just tends to be somewhat gritty. The lumps were fine and left alone at this point would be ok. I wanted a less lumpy/gritty texture (you know to trick my picky eater) so I ran it all through a food processor.  The texture is not completely smooth like whipped taters so don't expect that. We like mashed taters better and mashed taters are lumpy. 

There are a few things that give this dish away. The smell of cauliflower is evident and really can't be masked. That threw my picky eater into a stand off of biblical proportions. She licked a little off the fork and just couldn't eat it. Everyone else really loved it. I will wait and have her try it again in a few months. Sometimes that is all it takes for her. To each their own.

Tasty details:

The cream cheese and parmesan cheese give the dish a depth of flavor that really makes this dish. 

The chives are what makes the mind run head long into thinking it is a potato dish. 

The butter aids in the feel and development of flavors. 

Trust me when I say to you if you are going to omit any of the ingredients you won't be nearly as pleased. 

It really is one of the best dishes we have tried in a long while. 

I try to add a little salt in each dish but leave the real addition of salt and pepper to the individual as everyone's tastes differ in the usage of these spices.

Now I mentioned in the beginning that this is one of our favorite tater recipes. I make this with real mashed taters instead of cauliflower. The texture is smoother not as gritty and really very good. I mean so good I could eat my own body weight in it but since I am a pillar of self restraint (flashback to me licking the serving bowl earlier) I have yet to do that. : )

Let me know when you try it and what you liked or changed for your family.

Thank you for stopping by!

Wishing you and yours the best of all things!

Carolyn