By: J. King

So, today was Shrove Tuesday as well as Mardi Gras.   Figuring it was going to be easier to stick to my paleo regimen with some Cajun food as opposed to a big stack of flapjacks, I started searching for some appropriate recipes using ingredients I already had on hand.   Creole cooking was in no way conceived with weight maintenance in mind, but rather an enjoyment of life and enjoyment of great ingredients that could be expressed through the kitchen in this delicious cuisine.   So here’s what I came up with and my family loved it!   Give it a whirl and laissez les bon temps rouler!

Two things at once.

Creole Pork Chops With Cauliflower ‘Rice’

For the pork chops:

1Tbsp coconut oil

4 Pork Chops, around 1″ thick (I used loin chops)

1 540ml can chili-seasoned diced stewed tomatoes

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

salt, pepper & cayenne to taste

For the ‘rice’

1 head cauliflower

1 Tbsp coconut oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 scallions, thinly sliced

Had these in the cupboard and they came in very handy for this dish.

To be fair, I would probably normally use unseasoned tomatoes but I just happened to have these chili-seasoned ones on hand.   Couple that with the fact that I was starving and had to get my wife fed well before her yoga class and you have a serendipitous triumph of flavour and ease.   (a little much?  ah, well…)

Okay, the most aggravation here is grating the cauliflower.   I used the grater blade on my food processor, but a box grater is fine.   Use the big holes; remember you’re going for an end product that resembles rice.   All done?   Okay, everything is going to happen quickly now, so stay focused and let’s roll:

Heat a large cast-iron skillet on medium-high on one burner and a large, non-stick pan on another burner on medium.   Put the coconut oil in each one.

While the coconut oil melts, salt and pepper the pork chops on both sides.   Drop them in the cast iron skillet and brown on one side.   After you flip them once, add the rest of the pork chop ingredients to the skillet, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and put a lid on it.   Ignore until your ‘rice’ is ready.

Add the garlic to the non-stick pan…stir it a bit until you can smell it in the air and it is starting to soften, but don’t brown it.   Add the cauliflower and scallions….stir often until the whole mixture is hot and has the consistency of perfectly cooked, fluffily rice transfer to plates or a serving bowl.

Test the pork chops for doneness…they should be just fine by now.   Add them to the plates or a platter.  Make sure you spoon lots of that pan sauce over the chops and ‘rice.’   Enjoy!