Mushroom and Asparagus Caulisotto
Vegetarian or Vegan (V) option included

Serves 6  

Ingredients:
 

•    1 Tablespoon butter or coconut oil (V)
•    1 medium onion, peeled and diced
•    3 large garlic cloves, chopped
•    16 oz sliced mushrooms (shiitake are
     great, cremini or button will work too)
•    2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and
     chopped into 1 inch pieces•   
•    Italian seasonings and rosemary,
     herbes de provence, whichever you
     prefer, to taste
•    Salt and pepper to taste
•    16 oz riced cauliflower (equivalent of 1
     medium cauliflower) 
•    1/2 cup vegetable broth 
•    1/3 cup cream or coconut cream (V) or
     cashew cream (V)*
•    1/2 cup Parmesan cheese or 1/4 cup
     nutritional yeast (V)

Preparation:

1.   Heat up a large dutch oven over
     medium low heat - add butter or
     coconut oil 
2.  Add onion and saute until translucent.
3.  Add garlic and saute 2 minutes
4.  Add mushrooms and asparagus and saute
    for about 5 more minutes, or until the
    vegetables are tender.
5.  Add seasonings.
6.  Add cauliflower rice and broth and stir
    to combine.
7.  Cover and bring to a boil.
8.  Lower heat and uncover. Let simmer,
    stirring occasionally, until the liquid is
    absorbed.
(At this point you can cover the pot and let it sit while you prepare your salad, set the table, etc. If you take too long a break, however, you'll need to turn the heat back on.)
9.  Add the cream and parmesan cheese or
    nutritional yeast and stir together. 

Serve immediately.

Note - Use either fresh cauliflower rice or a whole cauliflower that you process in the food processor until it's the consistency of rice. Frozen cauliflower rice tends to be too mushy.

* Cashew cream only takes about 5 minutes to make and is a good substitute for cream in vegan dishes. The key though, is to soak your raw cashews ahead of time - overnight is optimal but at least an hour is required. Here's a recipe to make cashew cream.

Cashew Cream (OPTIONAL substitute for the cream or the coconut cream)

INGREDIENTS

- 1/3 cup raw cashews*
- water to cover
- 1/4 cup water for blending
- dash salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the cashews in a bowl and fill with
   water until an inch higher than the
   cashews. 
2. Soak for at least 1 hour or overnight, if
    you can.
3. Drain the cashews.
4. Add the soaked and drained cashews,
   1/4 cup water and salt to a blender and
   blend on high for 1 minute. Stop and
   scrape then add additional liquid if
   necessary and blend until smooth.