Crunchy Cauliflower Bites
The vegetarian's version of Chicken Nuggets. Very, very good when hot from the oven. I did them in my Ninja Fliptm Airfry Oven so I didn't have to heat the whole house!
1 medium Cauliflower, broken into florets
4 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon ground Coriander
4 tablespoons dairy-free milk substitute
3-4 oz Panko
4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dipping Sauces for serving. I love Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chili Saucetm
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Or not... this isn't a sticky sort of preparation and I had no issues with an ordinary non-stick pan.
Steam or boil the cauliflower in salted water for 5 minutes until almost tender. I nuked mine in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle the corn flour and spices over the florets, and toss to coat. Pour over the dairy-free milk and toss to coat again, followed by the breadcrumbs, tossing a final time to make sure every thing is covered in breadcrumbs. Season well with salt and pepper and spread out on a prepared baking sheet.
Drizzle the oil (I used only about 1 Tbsp from my sprayer!) over the florets and bake for 15 minutes until the breadcrumbs are deeply golden and the cauliflower is cooked through.
WW Chickpea Crust Veggie Tart (a.k.a. "pizza")
Sally pointed me to this WW recipe which came up in her WW app. This one is pretty simple, folks, not to mention fast, easy and downright tasty.
1 can Garbanzos, drained and rinsed
3 cloves Garlic
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1+ tsp Oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 450F.
In the food processor, pulse the beans and garlic a few times. Then add the cornstarch and spices and pulse more. Add the cheese and egg and spin to bring it all together.
Scoop the mixture out onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet or peel. Use a spatula to spread the mixture out into a 12" or larger disk or rectangle. Bake for 15-18 minutes until starting to brown. Remove and let the crust rest a few minutes while you turn it into a pizza. I used a bare schmear of tomato gravy, mushrooms, par-cooked asparagus tips, bell pepper, goat cheese and a bit of mozzarella. Return to the oven and bake again for about 15 minutes until melty and delicious!
Impossible Cottage Pie
Well, the "meat" was impossible anyway... Impossible Burgertm that is. My local Publix has it for a better price than Boca or other "meat replacements". Cottage Pie is a concept, not really a specific list of ingredients, so feel free to add or subtract to get a dish that you'll love as much as we loved this.
First I peeled and boiled up about a 1-1/2 lbs of chunk-cut potatoes. When done, I mashed them with some plain Skyr yogurt, a splash of half & half, and a dash of white pepper.
Then I browned 8 oz of faux meat with a splash of EVOO for flavor, added some diced onion (about a cup) and raw carrot (another cup) and continued cooking for a couple minutes.
To save a bunch of time I then added a bag of frozen Mixed Vegetables and a small bag of Frozen Peas straight from the freezer (carefully removing them from their respective bags first). I added a cup of water, put the lid on, and let the veg thaw and start to cook for a few minutes.
At this point I added spices & herbs -- dried basil, coriander, rosemary, thyme, sage... all the usual suspects, to taste. Then I added about 4 Tbsp of Bistotm Gravy Crystals to the bubbling liquid and gave things a stir. I let it all come back to a low boil for a few minutes, then took it off the heat.
I transferred the filling to a nice glass baking dish, and spooned the mashed potatoes overall. A sprinkle of sweet paprika to help it brown, and the dish went into the oven at 400F for about 30 minutes until the crust was starting to brown around the edges.
Welsh Rarebit (Cheesy Toast)
No rabbits were harmed in the production of this dish! This is a real English recipe, not some tarted up Americanized version. Well, I did tart it up with some sauteed mushrooms...
2 Tbsp unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp AP Flour
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp kosher Salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Porter or other Beer
3/4 cup Cream
6 oz (1-1/2 cups) shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar
Hot Sauce -- a couple drops
4 slices toasted Bread (not white "Wonder" bread, use the real thing)
Optional sauteed Mushroom slices
In a saucepan over low
heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux for a couple minutes to lose the floury taste but do NOT brown the flour.
Whisk in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper
until smooth. Now add the beer and whisk to combine; then the cream. Last, gradually add cheese, stirring
constantly, until it melts and the sauce is smooth. Add hot sauce
