Crispy Cauliflower Bites healthier than tots and fries
You shouldbake them in aminimuffin tin.
The dilemma thatmakes fried spud lovers break out in a cold, clammy sweat?
“Would you like tater tots or fries with that?”
It’s a tough choice — a tater tot’s crispy, crunchy exterior vs. a french fry’s fluffy interior. Indecision will not save you from ridicule: The Twitterversewants to know: Are you #teamtots or #teamfrenchfries?
But, hey, if you’re trying to shore up your waistline after toomany tots and fries, the only answer to the question is give me The Kansas City Star’s Crispy Cauliflower Bites, please.
In fact, these crispy oven-baked morsels made in a mini muffin tin are so reminiscent of tater tots you might not even miss the tater — especially if you dunk them in ketchup.
Preparation tips: If cauliflower feels like it has a lot of liquid after processing, place cauliflower in a Crispy Cauliflower Bites have the satisfying crunch of tater tots but areeasyon thewaistline.
kitchen towel and squeeze away excess liquid.
Riced cauliflower is nowavailable as either fresh or frozen at many grocery stores and it is great to use in this recipe. For best results, choose a riced cauliflower with kernels similar in size to rice.
For this recipe, we tested it with riced cauliflower from Trader Joes.
CRISPYCAULIFLOWERBITES
Makes 24 cauliflower bites
Nonstickcooking spray ½ mediumheadcauliflower ⅔ cupshreddedcheddar
cheese ¼ cupgratedParmesancheese ¼ cupall-purposeflouror
gluten-freeflour 2largeeggs
½ teaspoonsalt ½ teaspoonredpepperflakes
Preheat oven to400degrees. Spray minimuffintin generously with nonstick cooking spray.
Removethe leaves fromthe cauliflower. You can use the inner core for this recipe. Coarsely chop the cauliflower and place in thework bowl of a food processor with the steel chopping blade. Pulse the food processor until the cauliflower is finely chopped. Do not over process or the cauliflowerwill turn into a puree.
Place the finely chopped cauliflower into a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir to blendwell. Place a rounded tablespoon of the mixture into eachminimuffin well. Pat down to form a nugget. Bake uncovered 15 minutes. Carefully turn each cauliflower bite over and continue to bake for 12 to 15 additional minutes or until bites are crispy brownon both sides.
Serve hot orwarmforbest flavor.
Per bite (recipe makes 24): 30 calories (percent of calories fromfat, 56), 2 g protein, 1 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 22 mg cholesterol, 86 mg sodium.
Recipe developed exclusively for The Star by professional home economists Kathy Moore and RoxanneWyss.