Cauliflower is delicious cooked in so many ways, (roasted with Parmesan, stuffed with cheesy-onion filling, or baked with buffalo wing sauce) but one of our favorites is super simple: mashed with some butter, white pepper, and Boursin Shallot & Chive Cheese! We’ve been on a bit of a Boursin kick lately and all of the cheeses they make are delicious! By the way, I just discovered that they now make a dairy-free version of the original Garlic & Fine Herbs for any of you on a dairy-free diet!
One day a year or so ago, I was planning to use goat cheese in some dish or other that we were making, but I couldn’t find any in the refrigerator. This would not be a problem for most folks, who would simply drive to the store, but we happened to be in the mountains in Idaho and were 45 minutes from the closest store that might carry goat cheese!
Fortunately, someone had brought us a little round of Boursin and I figured, what the heck and substituted it for the goat cheese. So, that is how this mashed cauliflower recipe came about! This may sound like an ad for Boursin, but it truly isn’t. It’s just that good that nowadays we keep it on hand as a staple and toss it in whenever we think cream or cream cheese would be a good addition to whatever we are making!
Just as a side note, I tried using blue cheese in this same recipe, and even though we love blue cheese too, the Boursin with its light and creamy texture is just a better complement to mashed cauliflower! The blue cheese overpowered the lightness of the mashed cauliflower.
Mashed Cauliflower with Shallot & Chive Boursin
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower cleaned broken into florets and stems (or even better, use pre-packaged florets) You can use the yellow or white cauliflower, whichever you like best.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 2 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces (brown butter would also be fantastic here, but not necessary)
- 2 tablespoons Boursin Shallot & Chive Cheese Can also use the original Garlic & Fine Herbs, which comes in non-dairy now
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- Garnish: snipped parsley or basil
Instructions
Mashed Cauliflower with Shallot & Chive Boursin
- Either steam or roast the cauliflower just until tender.
Steaming Method:
- Preheat oven to 400⁰ F.
- Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Toss cauliflower in 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and white pepper. Lay out on the baking sheet.
- Roast for approximately 7-10 minutes, or just until beginning to brown and a knife can be easily inserted into the stems.
- Remove from oven and cool completely.
Smashing the Cauliflower
- Place cooked cauliflower into the bowl of your food processor. (Depending upon the size of your processor, you may need to work in batches.) Process until pureed and smooth and no large chunks remain.
- Place pureed cauliflower in pot and heat over low heat. Stir in butter, minced garlic, and Boursin cheese. Season with salt and white pepper.
- For a super smooth cauliflower mash, return this whole mixture to the food processor and puree one more time. Then reheat over the stove or in a casserole dish in the oven.Serve hot and garnish with snipped parsley or basil!
