Polenta - Cauliflower Puree with Barbecue Shredded Chicken

You could just put BBQ shredded chicken over creamy polenta, but the cauliflower puree increases the polenta base without adding many calories, and the flavor is so mild as to be nearly unnoticeable. The homemade, mustard based barbecue sauce is good, and easy to tweak to your personal tastes. However, if you’re in a hurry, store-bought BBQ could be substituted easily to save time.

Ingredients

12 oz cauliflower florets

1 C (low sodium) chicken stock

½ C coarse cornmeal

3 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp coarse salt

½ C tomato sauce

3 T water

2 T yellow mustard

2 T ketchup

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

dash chile powder

12 oz cooked, shredded chicken (mix of breast and thigh)

½ c thin sliced scallions

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Process the cauliflower in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to saucepan; add stock and cornmeal. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking often, until cauliflower is cooked and mixture is thickened (~15 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Combine tomato sauce, water, mustard, ketchup, garlic, onion and chile powders in a small sauce pan. Bring gently to a simmer, stirring often until slightly thickened (5-10 minutes). Stir in shredded chicken.

Divide cauliflower-polenta into 4 bowls; top with chicken and barbeque sauce. Garnish with scallions.