Creamy Cauliflower Puree with Fenugreek

Author Notes

My fridge is loaded with fruits and veggies, sending subliminal messages of health across my apartment. I was seriously in the throes of a carb-craving the other day, and with nothing other than fruits and veggies decided to get a little creative. The result? A lusciously, creamy cauliflower puree flecked with crushed fenugreek leaves.

Okay, so in reality, this still has butter and some milk, but it’s definitely better for you than equally buttery mashed potatoes. The cauliflower, cooked until super tender, is fresh and creamy when pureed. Fenugreek, as a seasoning, is used in so many different cultures – South Asian, Ethiopian (like in the clarified butter), Iranian, Turkish, Afghani…to name a few. I chose the leaves here over the seeds because the flavor of the leaves is much more subtle and lacks the typical bitterness of the seeds. Fenugreek leaves have a flavor not unlike celery, and, when warm, emit a sweetness of sorts.

This is a sinfully easy side dish to make. - aliyaleekong —aliyaleekong

Test Kitchen Notes

Aliyaleekong's puree is comforting and creamy without weighing you down. The fenugreek leaves add a subtle extra vegetal dimension to the sweet, clean cauliflower puree, but her technique would adapt well to other herbs if you can't track down fenugreek. (This worked great as a soup too, by thinning the puree with the leftover milk from simmering). - Kristen —The Editors