Yes you read that right - Cheddar Stuffed Cauliflower Bites and these taste amazing with my homemade tomato and basil sauce.
I had a cauliflower sitting in my fridge. It was there waiting to be made into my delicious Cauliflower and Spring Onion fritters but when it came round to it, I actually decided to make something new.
Cauliflower is a great substitute for lots of different things, like rice in my Roasted Cauliflower rice, as a bread in my Cauliflower Garlic Flatbread, pizza base in my Cauliflower Pizza and then mashed potato in my Cauliflower and Spring Onion Mash.
The mash popped an idea in my head. I wonder if I can great a kind of cauliflower mash bite with a tomato dip and then I thought, ooooh maybe I can go one better and stuff with some melty cheese, kind of like an Arancini.
The only other task was a coating. I didn't want to use breadcrumbs, as cauliflower can have quite a lot of moisture and I figured it would just go soggy, so I decided to grind some corn flakes and seasoning and use that, as the corn flakes are not too high in syns when portioned out.
I knew the biggest issue then would be to get that cauliflower to bind together, but sticking to the steps I do with my cauliflower pizza base, these work out perfectly.
They are delicious with the cheese in the middle. I used cheddar, but you could also use mozzarella if you prefer.
They pair beautifully with the quick tomato and basil sauce and best of all is these lovely morsels are gluten free.
Cheddar Stuffed Cauliflower Bites
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower, raw
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
- 3 large eggs
- 90g (3oz) of cheddar cheese - chopped into 12 equal sized cubes
- 50g (2oz) of cornflakes
- 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon of Italian herbs
- pinch of salt and black pepper
for the sauce
- 1 cup (240g) of passata
- 1 cup (240ml) of chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- few leaves of fresh basil, chopped
- salt and black pepper
- low calorie spray
Instructions
- Break the cauliflower into florets.
- Add a ¼ of the cauliflower at a time to a blender or food processor and blitz until it almost resembles mashed potatoes.
- Dump each batch in a large bowl and repeat, until all florets are blended.
- Place all the cauliflower in a clean tea towel and squeeze out all the moisture from the cauliflower.
- Add to a bowl with the salt, onion powder and garlic powder and mix to combine.
- Crack in the eggs one by one, mixing as you do, until all ingredients are combined.
- Add the cornflakes to a mini blender with the paprika, Italian herbs, pinch of salt and pepper.
- Blitz till fine (if you don't have a mini blender, just place in a ziplock bag and crush till very fine with a rolling pin)
- Preheat oven to 180c fan, 200c/400f (gas mark 6)
- Place the cornflake mixture in a shallow dish.
- Now grab a handful of the cauliflower mixture and flatten it on your hand like a pancake (it will be slightly wet, but this is fine, it firms up when cooked)
- Add a cube of the cheese and using both hands form the cauliflower around the cheese into a ball.
- Roll in the cornflake mixture and repeat (you should get 12 balls/bites)
- Place the on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and spray over the top with spray oil.
- Bake in the oven for approx 30 mins until golden and firm.
- While the bites cook, you can make the quick sauce.
- Spray a frying pan over a medium high heat with spray oil
- Add the onion and garlic and fry till softened.
- Add the passata, tomato paste, stock and basil, bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins.
- Add to a blender and blend till smooth.
- Add back to the pan and continue to heat for about 2 mins and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
- Serve the cauliflower bites with the sauce.
- These bites are delicious hot or cold.
Notes
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 2 BITESAmount Per Serving Calories 165Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 111mgSodium 613mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 3gSugar 9gProtein 10g
Nutritional information and valuesetc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.
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