Cauliflower fritters – Lazy Cat Kitchen

These cauliflower fritters came about from finding a sad forgotten cauliflower at the back of my fridge. They are simple to make and only use simple, cupboard-friendly ingredients. They come together quickly too. We’ve enjoyed them as a quick snack, I hope you will too.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

CAULIFLOWER: You’ll need 500 g (17.6 oz) of cauliflower, which is a small cauliflower to make these cauliflower fritters. You want to divide it into florets and boil until just tender.

CHICKPEA FLOUR: I used chickpea flour to bind these cauliflower fritters. I like it as it’s widely available, rich in protein yet naturally gluten-free too. Other flours should work too, but I have not tested with anything else.

PLANT MILK: I used soy milk in combination with chickpea flour to bind these fritters. You can use any type of plant milk or water though, it does not really matter in this recipe.

SPICES: You can add any spices you like. I went for a combination of smoked paprika, cumin and a bit of garlic powder too.

SPRING ONIONS: A couple of spring onions (known as scallions in the US) chopped finely are a nice addition to these simple fritters.

VEGAN YOGHURT: Vegan yoghurt forms a base of the simple coriander sauce. I used thick coconut yoghurt by the Coconut Collaborative but if you are not a fan of coconutty flavour, a soy, oat or almond based yoghurt will work well. If a good vegan yoghurt is hard to get, use raw cashews blended with water instead.

CORINADER: I used a small handful of fresh coriander (known as cilantro in the US) to make the dip. I excluded large stalks as they tend to add a bit too much bitterness for my taste but you may not find that to be the case. If you dislike coriander, how about

LEMON: A touch of lemon is an optional addition. I found that the coriander dip benefitted from a bit of acidity but do taste and adjust this to your own preference.

OIL: Use a neutral, high smoke point oil to fry these cauliflower fritters in. I used peanut oil, but sunflower oil, grapeseed oil and rice bran oil all work.

HOW TO MAKE IT?

1) PARBOIL THE CAULIFLOWER

To begin with we need to parboil the cauliflower as frying alone won’t be enough to cook it. Divide the cauliflower into small, and as much as possible same-sized, florets and boil them until just tender. It will take approximately 5 minutes but it really depends on their size.

2) MAKE THE DIP

While the cauliflower is boiling, throw the dip together by blending the yoghurt and fresh coriander in a small blender. Taste and season with salt, pepper and lemon or lime juice if needed.

3) DICE THE CAULIFLOWER

Chop the parboiled cauliflower into small pieces like in this photo. You can either use a sharp knife or a food processor but if using the latter be careful not to overprocess.

4) MAKE THE FRITTER MIXTURE

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl to obtain a spoonable mixture. If you have time, reirrigate it for a bit before frying but it is not necessary. The fritters you see in my photos were fried straight away.

5) FRY

Preheat a medium size pan on a low-medium heat. Cover the bottom of the pan with a film of oil. Once the got is hot, lay two tablespoon worth of mixture per fritter and fry until golden on both sides.