Ok, this has to be one of my most festive recipes yet.  I wasn’t originally going to call it a Christmas Pilaf, but come on.  Look at that color.  What else are you going to call it? 

Confession: I have never had a pilaf.  I know it has to do with rice, I know it’s served in restaurants as a side dish, and I constantly think of a scene from the movie Waiting when I hear “pilaf”.  But I had this idea to combine cranberries and pistachios (don’t ask) and I needed a way to do that so I went with pilaf.

Except that I didn’t make it with rice so I am not sure if this is “technically” a pilaf but whatever.  It sounds fancy and I’m not changing it. 

Once again cranberries have made their way onto my blog.  I made a sauce out of them to add to my pilaf and it just elevated the whole dish.  Yes, I just said it elevated the dish.  I may be watching too much Food Network.

Hahaha!  Too much Food Network.  Like that’s even possible!  Anyway, the hardest part of this dish is making the cauliflower rice and you can totally skip that part and get some pre-made cauli-rice at the grocery store.  Most places have it now, like Target and Wal-mart, just make sure to read the ingredients so you know you’re getting just cauliflower no weird stuff.  Otherwise, this recipe is pretty much assemble and mix.

Pretty fantastic for a quick Christmas side dish if I do say so myself 🙂 I won’t be posting again until next Wednesday so I can enjoy the holiday with my family.  Make sure to check out some of my other Christmas recipes so you have plenty of food to feed your family this weekend.

I hope you have the Merriest Christmas friends!

Christmas Pilaf 

For the cranberry sauce: 

• 1.5 cups fresh cranberries (if you use frozen, thaw first)
• 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 1 Meyer lemon (use cuties/halos/mandarin oranges if you can’t find Meyer lemons)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp miso
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times.  It should still be rather chunky.  Set aside.

For the pilaf: 

• 1 batch of cranberry sauce
• 1 head of cauliflower, riced
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup raw pistachios

1. Toast the pistachios a few minutes in a dry saute pan and then set aside.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a large saute pan with a lid over medium-high heat.  Add the shallots and garlic and saute for a minute.  Add in the riced cauliflower and stir to combine everything.
3. Add 2 tbsp water to the pan and then cover.  Steam for about 5 minutes.  Remove lid and stir again. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour in all the cranberry sauce and mix to make sure everything is coated.  Cook for a few minutes just to warm through.  Remove the pan from heat and stir in the pistachios.