Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 400ºF and rub an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan with olive oil.

Fill a medium pot with water, as well as large pot. Add a pinch of salt to each and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce each pot’s heat to medium and place chicken in the medium pot and cauliflower florets into the large pot, covering just the cauliflower pot with a lid. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and the cauliflower is fork tender, about 10–15 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate to cool. Drain the cauliflower and place onto a kitchen towel to cool for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

While the cauliflower/chicken cook, heat olive oil in a large, high-sided pan over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and taco seasoning and cook until lightly golden brown, stirring frequently, or about 3–5 minutes.
Add enchilada sauce and bring to a boil, boiling for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is reduced and thick, about 7 minutes.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the kitchen towel and wring out as much of the water as possible. Really put some muscle into this because you don’t want a soggy casserole! I like to do this twice, using 2 towels, to really get out the water!

Place the cauliflower into a large food processor, along with the egg, egg white, salt and a generous pinch of pepper. Add the enchilada sauce mixture and process until mixture is smooth. Transfer into a large bowl.

Shred the cooked chicken and add it into the bowl along with the green chiles, stirring until well mixed. Transfer into the prepared pan and cover with tinfoil. Cook for 30 minutes, and then remove the tinfoil and cook for another 30–40 minutes, or until casserole feels set and sides are lightly browned. Sprinkle with the cheese and cook and additional couple minutes, until cheese is melted.

Cover the casserole to keep it warm and let it sit for 10 minutes, so it absorbs some of the excess moisture. Slice and serve. Sprinkle with cilantro, tomatoes, avocado and devour.

Note: If you’re sensitive to salt, or if your taco seasoning is super salty, you might want to use a little bit less. I thought this was perfect, but I like a lot of salt.