CRISPY CAULIFLOWER BITES

I came across this recipe  at Jessicainthekitchen.com  a great blog promoting real wholesome plant based food.

These are just the most delicious, crispy, flavoursome and healthy finger foods on the planet! Perfect food for sharing and you can dip them in whatever dip or sauce you fancy!

 I genuinely think you could persuade a few vegetable haters to try these or even fussy kids !

I love cauliflower and it has a long season in the UK so readily available and locally grown for quite a few months of the year.  I should just add that cauliflower is a bit of a superstar in the health stakes. Its a great source of:
vit C,vit K,B vitamins, omega 3 fats, magnesium, antioxidants and phytonutrients which protect against cancer. It contains choline for brain health, its anti inflammatory, supports the digestive system and   detoxification.

They do have a cheesy flavour but it comes from Nutritional Yeast Flakes, which are a godsend for vegans who like cheesy flavour without the dairy!

So back to the recipe, you need a medium to large cauliflower, broken into bite sized florets. The trick with these is to dip the florets in batter then into breadcrumbs for a fantastic crunchy coating that sticks!

They are then simply baked in a hot oven for 20 to 30 minutes so no faffing about with hot oil. I really detest deep frying anything,


I always have a bag of breadcrumbs in the freezer. I just blitz any leftover bread in my food processor for instant breadcrumbs.
At Nourished by Nature we care about food waste and since I am always baking lots of sourdough, I generally have spare!


You can make a gluten free version using gluten free flour and breadcrumbs. Chickpea flour is naturally gluten free.  


Serve with any dipping sauce, chilli sauce, guacamole, tomato salsa or even good old tomato ketchup! I served mine with fermented tomato ketchup, sweetened with maple syrup and naturally fermented for a probiotic hit and fantastic flavour!


So here is the very simple recipe....

Ingredients

• I medium cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1/2 cup flour ( I used chickpea or gram flour)
• 1/2 cup milk (I used hemp but oat, rice or almond would work too)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (optional but recommended!)
• oil for greasing your baking tray

Method​

1. Heat your oven to 450 F / 230 C / Gas Mark 8
2. Break your cauliflower into even  bite sized florets, for even cooking.
3. Mix flour, milk and seasoning in a small bowl to make the batter. I used chickpea flour which is a bit lumpy so I whisked the batter until it was lump free!
4. Mix the breadcrumbs and nutritional yeast flakes in a separate bowl.
5. Lightly grease a baking tray with oil. I used rapeseed oil.
6. Dip the florets into the batter one by one, let any excess drip back into the bowl,  then dip them into the breadcrumb mix then put them on the greased baking tray.
7. Bake the florets for around 20 to 30 minutes, until nicely browned and cooked! I turned the tray halfway for even browning.
8. Serve with your favourite dip/sauce.

                              

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