I was popping around the Ocean Mist Farms site (one of the largest growers of artichokes in the country) for inspirations on how to cook some beautiful artichokes – when I found this most interesting recipe for slow cooker Cauliflower Risotto. The chef’s idea was to chop two heads of cauliflower into “risotto-like” pieces and then cook them so the final dish resembles cheesy risotto with peas. Very creative.
I wanted to recreate the slow cooker dish with the addition of arborio rice. It was tricky to try to adapt some of the slow cooker risotto recipes I found to accommodate for the cauliflower which had a longer cooking time than most of the rice recipes. Of course the beauty of cooking risotto in the slow cooker is that there’s no need to stand over the pot and stir as the rice grains slowly absorb the cooking liquid which is slowly added cup after cup.
In the end, my recipe was deemed creamy and delicious by all three of my kids (who even ate the cauliflower even though I lost patience trying to cut them to resemble risotto grains.) And I’m quite certain we could have eaten the entire Crock Pot, had I not insisted upon leftovers (at least enough for me to photograph the next day!)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 large head cauliflower, chopped into very small pieces
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 3 1/2 cups warm chicken broth
- 1 cup frozen peas, set on the counter to thaw during last 30 min of cooking time
- 1/4-1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Turn slow cooker on to High.
- Melt butter in 12-inch non-stick skillet. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add wine and cook about 1 1/2 minutes until wine is reduced by half. Add cauliflower and saute until warm about 3 minutes. Add rice and stir constantly for about 1 minute. Pour mixture into slow cooker.
- Add warm broth and cover. Cook on High for 30 minutes, then turn down to Low and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours. I'm guessing you could also cook on low the entire time for about 3 hours.
- Remove lid and stir in peas and cover lid while grating cheese.
- Serve sprinkled with grated cheese and a poached egg if desired.
Which spring vegetables do you like in your risotto: Asparagus, artichokes, peas? Ever tried risotto in the slow cooker?
This looks amazing for spring-especially breakfast or brunch! I’m on a squash and spinach for breakfast kick.
This looks great! So nice to see it paired with a poached egg for healthy vegetarian protein! I love slow cooker recipes
Thanks Robyn. I adore poached eggs. (: