Crispy cauliflower bites

Cauliflower is pretty special. It has so many uses.

So of course there is the more regular cauliflower soup or cauliflower ‘cheese’ recipes.

But then you have the more quirky recipes...the chance to get a little creative with this mild flavoured white vegetable...the perfect canvas for experimentation?

Cauliflower rice risotto?...ok not quite crazy enough. How about baked banana oatmeal (remember when I snuck it is there?) I’m sure I’ve also used it in muffins to replace the apple puree (which in turn replaces part of the fat content) but I can’t seem to find it on the blog...maybe it hasn’t yet been written up (perfect excuse for a retest!)

Anyway back to the point of this recipe. I love cauliflower as a great way to make a really substantial meal without loading up on calories, calories I can make use of elsewhere in the day. It’s also perfect as a light snack, so here we have these crispy little cauli bites. Serve them as a side or as a snack on their own.... nibbly and moreish!  Mix up the flavours to your own preference. Don’t worry about the banana, this was simply to get the sticky consistency to coat the cauliflower, I found that the power of the spices more then cover any bananary flavours tones.

Recipe: Crispy cauliflower bites

Serves 2 as a side or snack

Ingredients

2 cups loose packed cauliflower florets (chopped in approx 1” size)

¼ cup banana- mashed

1 tsp ground flax

2 tbs water

1 tsp smoky chipotle sauce (or other hot spice)

½ tsp cumin

1 tbs nutritional yeast (optional but recommended)

1/3 cup polenta meal

Method

Prepare the cauliflower florets and set aside. Blend the banana, water, flax, and spice to make a smooth sticky paste. Coat the cauliflower in the mixture and then roll in the polenta meal to coat as evenly as possible. You can add extra spice to the polenta meal if you desire.

Spread the coated florets in a single layer on a line baking sheet and bake at 150C for approx 30 mins until golden and crispy. 

Note: I lowered the temperature to prevent premature burning and to help dry the coating as it cooked and crisped up.

Eat very soon after baking to ensure a crisp bite.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.