Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes

I love cauliflower!  I was going to say, who doesn’t, but I guess there are a few of you out there.  What’s the matter with you?  (Please send responses to foodlustpeoplelove(at) gmail(dot)com or leave me a comment. :)  The best part of cauliflower is that it is mild, as vegetables go, so it goes well with just about anything.  My favorite way to eat it is how my mother taught me way back when: cooked then slathered in mayonnaise.  Yes!  The mayo melts drippingly into the hot cauliflower adding just the right amount of oil and salt.  Just TRY it.  Another of my cauliflower favorites as a child was cauliflower with cheese sauce.  If you can’t get your child to eat a vegetable, batter and deep-fry it or cover it in cheese.  Or, be still, my struggling heart, both.  Works like a charm.  When I was little, my mother didn’t steam vegetables, she boiled the heck out of them, as did my grandmother before her.  We didn’t know vegetables could be crisp and crunchy when cooked.  Just didn’t happen.  But when the cook-till-still-crunchy method came on the food scene, we jumped on it with the rest of the intelligent world.  And never looked back.

This recipe is healthier version of fried cauliflower with cheese because 1. There is no massively caloric cheese sauce and 2.  It is pan-fried with just a little oil.   But it is still cheesy and crispy and, trust me, delicious.  Even your children will eat this.   

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower

2 large eggs

3 1/4 oz or 90g grated cheddar cheese

1 oz or 30g grated Parmesan

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream (And yes, deep sigh, you could use milk instead.  If you must.)

Sea salt

Olive oil

Method

Cut the hard core of our your cauliflower then separate it into florets.  

Steam, covered, until fork tender.

Remove the cauliflower and the steamer and dump the water out of the pot.  

Return the cauliflower, a little at a time, to the pot or a metal mixing bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher.  The cauliflower will mash better if it is still hot.

Stir in your two cheeses, eggs, breadcrumbs, cayenne and a good sprinkle of sea salt.  

I was very generous with the cayenne because we like spicy.  Temper this to fit your own family. 

Add in the cream.  You don't want the mixture too wet but it should look like it would hang together.  Mix thoroughly and make a test patty after 2 tablespoons and then add more if it is still too dry.

Turn your oven on as low as it will go and put a baking tray in it.  This will be to keep the first patties warm as you pan-fry the rest.

Form the cauliflower mixture into small patties and pan-fry the first side in a non-stick skillet or griddle with a light drizzle of olive oil.   Cover the pan for a few minutes when the patties are on that first side, so that the egg in the mixture cooks through. 

When side one is golden, flip carefully to the other side and cook until golden with crunchy edges.   You can add another drizzle of oil, if need be, but the melting cheese often adds enough oil to the patty to help it crisp up. 

Put the first batch of cauliflower pancakes into your baking pan in the oven to keep warm and keep making patties and frying until all are done.

Enjoy!

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