Walmart Cauliflower Fritters ✠

I don’t know how Walmart knows that I like to cook healthy vegetables dressed up for delectability, but their ad for this dish popped up one day while I was checking the FaceBook events on my cell phone. I saved it, tried it, and liked it so much that I made it several times over the year following its discovery. I always make more than I can eat at one meal so I can have it for snacks or lunches during the week. I have spiced up the Walmart recipe to better conform to my New Mexico taste heritage.

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets, or
• 1 bag crumbled cauliflower from the supermarket
• 8 rashers bacon, cooked and crumbled
• ½ cup scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp Taubasco† sauce, or
• 1 large jalapeño chile, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1¼ cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• ¼ cup Asiago (or Parmesan) cheese, grated
• ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 low-carb flour tortilla, toasted and crumbled
• cooking spray
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup scallions, chopped.

If you can buy packaged crumbled cauliflower use it for this recipe. Put the contents into a bowl with 1” of water at the bottom. Cover and steam in the microwave about 4 minutes, or until soft. Drain.

If not, separate the head of cauliflower into florets, put them into a bowl with 1” of water at the bottom. Cover and steam in the microwave about 4 minutes, or until soft. Drain. Place the steamed florets in a food processor and pulse until it resembles rice. Alternately, chop it with a knife.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower rice, bacon, scallions, hot sauce (or minced jalapeño), eggs, cheeses, and toasted flour tortilla crumbs. Mix all ingredients well. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Spray a large skillet generously with the cooking spray and bring it up to a medium-high heat. Shape ¼ cup patties from the mixture and fry until golden brown on both sides. Add cooking spray as you turn the fritters.

Alternately, spray small muffin tins generously with the cooking spray and put them into a pre-heated 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Remove the tins and fill each cup from the mixture, spray each with the cooking spray, reinsert back into the oven, and bake until golden brown on all sides.

Remove from the heat to a platter, top each with a dollop of sour cream and scallions, and serve.

Makes about 15 fritters.

creamed cauliflower

This savory cauliflower purée makes a perfect lower G. I. stand-in for mashed potatoes. Don’t expect it to taste like mashed potatoes, but like creamed cauliflower, and you will not be disappointed. It gets its fabulous flavor of course from the cauliflower, enhanced by the garlic and other ingredients. Best of all, it has about one-quarter of the carbohydrates of typical mashed potatoes. You can vary it by adding shredded cheese or chopped fresh herbs.

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 1 medium potato, peeled and quartered
• 8 oz fat free cream cheese
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp <salt>
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ¼ tsp dried dill weed
• 1 oz grated Parmesan cheese

Remove the leaves and base of the cauliflower, leaving just the white florets. Boil florets and potato until very tender. Place in a mixing bowl and mash until smooth. Add cream cheese, lemon, dill, and <salt>, and blend using a hand mixer until uniform in texture. Serve topped with a little of the Parmesan cheese.