Cheat's Mushroom Risotto with Cauliflower Rice

Trying to cut back on carbs and calories is incredibly difficult when you love food and cooking and I have found that actually, cauliflower rice has been my saviour. Alone I would imagine it to be very bland, but when pepped with plenty of flavour it can be transformed into something delicious.

I created this version of Cauliflower Rice Mushroom Risotto as I had a craving for the stodgy, creamy dish and I actually enjoyed this immensely and will 100% make it again. Alone this comes in at 175 calories and with 20g Cheddar grated on top it is still only 258 calories but tastes great.

Here's how:

• 100g cauliflower rice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 leek
• 2 sticks of celery
• 100g mushrooms
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp white wine
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock
• 1 tsp creme fraiche
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Seasoning

Firstly unless you have bought the cauliflower rice, take a quarter of a caulflower and grate to create the 'rice'.

Next drizzle the oil into a non-stick pan and place on a low heat.

Peel and crush the garlic into the pan and then finely slice the leek and celery and add to the pan. Cook gently allowing to soften.

In the meantime slice the mushrooms roughly and add these to the pan. Thyme works really well with mushrooms so scatter in 1 tsp of dried thyme at this point.

As soon as the mushrooms start to wilt a little, add the cauliflower rice and use a wooden spoon to move them around and get them coated in the oil. Now season with sea salt and black pepper/

Now add the chicken stock and white wine and up the heat a little until the liquid reduces right down. The cauliflower rice then will take on some of the stock and winey flavours and give a more risotto tasting finish. 

Finally stir through the creme fraiche and if you need the extra luxury of cheese - 20g Cheddar only brings this dish up to 258 calories. Enjoy!