Cauliflower Cheesy Nugets

Yesterday I've mentioned an useful book with ideas and explanations about healthy foods for children. Today, I couldn't wait to prepare one of the few recipes shared in the book, although, as usual, with a personal touch and by using my favorite ingredients: cauliflower cheesy nugets.

Ingredients

1 medium-size cauliflower, shredded TIP: It goes very easy and fast to shred floret by floret. 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic power - I would have preferred the fresh garlic, but the recipe indicated otherwise therefore I tried to keep it in line with it.

3 medium-size eggs, beaten

150 gr. yellow cheese shredded. The original recipe indicated Parmesan and it was definitely a much better and finer version

300 gr. matzo flour The original recipe indicated crumbs and regula flour but I love the hard texture of the matzo flour much better. 

1/2 cup oil or more for frying

Directions

Warm the oil in the pan at 250C least 10 minutes before starting the cooking. Add the ingredients, one by one, and mix well. It is very important to have them equally distributed as it allows a good, balanced taste. With wet hands, take some mixture and roll it by hand. Add it to the hot oil and turn it on the sides. Let it rest on some parchement paper to absorb the extra oil. 

I would personally add some more spices as well, and also even more cheese. As it is a meal a bit too oily than the average, I served it with some fresh slices of tomatoes. Some avocado is a good match as well.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 18 small cauliflower nugets

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Baked Eggplant with Cheddar Cheese

My and eggplant...we have a very complicated story between us, but I keep doing it as much as I can, especially when my hungry imagination is ready to add some spices that may challenge my first (bad) impression about it. 

This time, I wanted to test my new Zwilling, a present from a dear friend, and decided that, among other things that I am planning to prepare, eggplant is the easiest, affordable one. Especially when some spices, courtesy of Spice Kitchen UK, part of their Brand Ambassador Program are added. The result was surprisingly tasty, rich in flavors and made it into a good side dish for a milky-/cheese-based meal. I will only add some fresh cucumber and tomato salad, for a touch of freshness and call it a good meal! 

Ingredients

- 1 medium-sized eggplant
- 3 cloves garlic, finelly minced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon Berbere which are a combination of many spices, such as red chilli, garlic, black peppercorns, cardamom, onion. It also has fenugreek, but I personally wanted a stronger presence of this spice, therefore I added it as a separate ingredient too.
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 slices of Cheddar Cheese - you can also use Edamer Cheese and any other hard cheese variant.

Directions

Roast the eggplant on the stove at 250C, turning it on all sides at least for 45 minutes. Peel it well, careful to clean all the black parts. Slice it and put it into the baking pan. Warm the oven at 250C, at least 10 minutes before starting the baking. Add the lemon zest, the salt, the spices, the garlic. Be sure that you turn the eggplant on both sides to smear the ingredients properly. Add the cheese on the top.

Bake it for around 45 minutes. 

Serve it warm. The spices and the lemon zest add a complex, sweet-sour taste and consistency to the eggplant. 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: Roasting: 45 minutes. Baking: 45 minutes

Serves: 2

Bon Appétit!

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