CHEESY CAULIFLOWER NUGGETS

How awesome is when you turn veggies into something so tasty and wonderful to eat? Well, that's what I just made here.

 

So my mom just got some cauliflower from the supermarket and I was wondering what to make with it. First of all I thought about baby Ellie and making her some nice soup. Which I will make later on. But then I was thinking how could I turn it pleasant for myself, since I kind of don't eat vegetables.

So I researched the interwebs and I found tons of recipes for cauliflower. So I picked some bits and bobs from a few recipes I saw and made this one myself.

Honestly, I didn't really care about exact proportions. Because that's what real cooks do (kinda). We add until we think it's good enough to our taste. And that's what you should start doing yourself too.

So basically I used half a cauliflower. The portion I got was more or less the size of a hand. Then I got a handful of shredded stringy cheese. I used a traditional portuguese cheese called flamengo, which is kinda the same as edam. Mozzarella or cheddar would do the trick as well. Added dried oregano, dried basil, dried chives, a pinch of paprika and another pinch of table salt. I also used two eggs (I was going for just one egg but it turned out too dry). And last but not least, breadcrumbs. Panko, fresh or dried, like mine, it doesn't really matter. Use whatever you have in your kitchen.

I started by grating the cauliflower into a bowl and then I added the shredded cheese, eggs, herbs, paprika and salt. Mixed everything with a whisk and started incorporating the breadcrumbs, always mixing. Keep adding until everything comes together into a consistent and firm ball. Not too much, though.

After that, I oiled up my hands so the mixture wouldn't stick to them and started creating balls slightly bigger than the size of a thumb. If you make them the size of meatballs, they won't cook so well, so try to make them a bit smaller than that. Keep oiling your hands through the process, otherwise you'll end up with your hands full of batter.

Place the cauliflower balls on a tray lined with parchment paper and take it into the oven at 180ºC for more or less 15/20 minutes. Keep checking on them and as soon as you see they are turning golden brown, they are done.

And then, voilá! A bunch of cauliflower goodness. Baked, not fried, and so crispy. Definitely worth it. I had mine with just regular ketchup; don't judge :) .