One of the first food blogs that I discovered was Roost, a gluten-free blog run by a young woman who cooks for her gluten-intolerant husband. It is a lovely, gentle journey of their lives together and I visit often. Yesterday I found this recipe there and it surprised me no end that you could make gluten-free couscous. Well, it’s not exactly couscous but it sure fooled Adriano. Even though he had done the shopping for the meal, he couldn’t work out what he was eating. This dish together with the snapper and my own recipe for mayonnaise was a perfect combination of flavours. Jamie Oliver would be proud to have produced this meal. I changed the recipe a little and didn’t use the original sauce so check out my version below but basically it came from Roost so do take a look at her recipe here.
This recipe is not low Fodmap.
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt, pepper and dry mustard
- ¼ tsp caster sugar
- ½ pint/280ml olive oil/canola oil blend
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 onion - sliced
- 2 tomatoes – chopped
- ¾ cup basil, chopped
- ¾ cup Italian parsley, chopped
- ½ tbsp lemon zest
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ tbsp butter
- ½ tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 4 fillets of snapper (one per person)
- 1 tbsp butter
- Salt & pepper
- To make the sauce, place the first four ingredients in a food processor. Blend until combined.
- Add the oil in a thin steady stream until it is all gone. This creates a rich, thick, lemony mayonnaise.
- To make the cauliflower couscous, cut the cauliflower into small chunks (stalk discarded) and place in a food processor.
- Heat the first lot of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent, about two minutes.
- Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Turn heat off and add cauliflower, herbs, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir until everything is combined. Place lid on pot and set aside.
- Heat the second lot of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the snapper fillets.
- When the pan is hot carefully add the fillets to the pan. Cook on each side for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve on top of the cauliflower couscous.
- Top each fillet of snapper with a dollop of sauce.
This sounds like a great weeknight meal – healthy, hearty and delicious!
Healthy is always a great bonus. My stomach was surprisingly settled after all that cauliflower and I didn’t feel too heavy after eating, which I sometimes do.
Suzanne
Using cauliflower to make “couscous” is brilliant! In fact it’s probably better than a lot of couscous I’ve eaten – sometimes it can be a tad bland. This is a really nice dish, and pretty easy to put together. Thanks for this.
It was super quick to make. The food processor is my best friend. It cuts down preparation time so much. I used my mini processor for the sauce and the big one for the cauliflower. I don’t do the washing up, by the way.
Suzanne
I’m not really into gluten free meals, but I’ve been exposed to a lot of recipes lately. I must say I’m beginning to like gluten free recipes. This snapper accompanied by cauliflower couscous sounds really delicious and I guess it is very light, too. I like the dollop of lemon mayonnaise on top of the snapper, yummy.
I’m not sure if I need gluten-free or not but meanwhile I am experimenting with them to see how they make me feel. Mostly they are just as delicious as non gluten-free meals but some thought has to go into them. The mayonnaise is one I have made for years and it is super moreish.
Suzanne
This cauliflower coucsous idea is absolutely brilliant! Shall try soonest [already on weekend menu!] and see what visiting friends think! Bet most won’t be able to pick, just compliment the taste. The snapper sounds lovely but a lot of other protein choices would work as well: the ‘couscous’ is the star to me 🙂 !
It would be fun to see who picks up that it is not actually couscous. Someone on Twitter said that they often use it instead of rice. I must try it with a curry perhaps. That would be a great test of its versatility.
Suzanne
I love the versatility of cauliflower! Couscous is awesome made with cauli and helps me assuage that craving for grains when I eat Mediterranean. I make a low carb wrap and homemade gyros and then usually make a cauliflower tabbouleh with mint, feta and fresh parsley and tomatoes and garlic.
Your snapper looks so moist and delicious! Great job and great post. Can’t wait to try it!
I just love Roost! It’s such a beautiful blog too!
I love the idea of substituting cauliflower for the grains in Tabbouleh, especially with the addition of feta – I must try it. The snapper was great but I had to snap the photos fast because it gets cold quickly. Yes, I love the Roost blog.
Suzanne