Recipe: Cauliflower Feta Fritters
CauliFlower Feta Fritters
With Fresh Mint + Oregano
Basically, every day has been a #WallOfChefs episode with my own fridge. What are the few secret ingredients of the day? What is on the cusp of going south in freshness that I can and should use before it’s passed its peak? I found myself with two heads of cauliflower, so I asked on @tofoodies Insta stories what the people would rather see with cauliflower: fritters or roasted for a bowl? Fritters won out, but in the final hours “roasted for a bowl” came too close for comfort.
What to do? I made bowl-friendly fritters and plated them out for you, as you can see here! I have split out the recipe so you can make these fritter alone with you favourite dip. These would be delish served alone, dipped into Tzatziki and/or hot sauce as an appetizer. OR my way - you could use them almost like a falafel replacement, added to bowls and pitas and lettuce wraps… and basically anything in your fridge or pantry. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have something - I used cream because I had cream! If you have another milky thing, it will probably still taste lovely.
Ingredients - For Fritters
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cream
2 scallion
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
2 cups cauliflower florets, riced (and blanched, if you have time)
1 cup feta, crumbled small
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons (or more, whatever it takes to get these crispy golden and keep the pan wet at all times) of a high heat oil like Sunflower, Canola or Vegetable Oil
Ingredients - For Bowl Assembly
Barley
Tomatoes
Roasted Garlic clove
Garlic Oil
Greek Yogurt
Fresh Oregano and Mint leaves
Lemon wedges
Fritter Method
Combine all Fritter ingredients in a bowl (except for the oil) and incorporate it all together. The mixture will be dense, but should stick together well. If the batter (I guess we can call it a batter?) is feeling dry to you, you can add a little extra cream at the end.
Heat a layer of oil in a nonstick pan. For the picture’s shape, I used one regular soup spoons to scoop and another soup spoon to cover the top like two clamshells coming together to make the fritter-to-be a smoother ball/patty. You can do the scoop + cup method, and then add it directly to hot oil. As mentioned, these would also be scrumptious as thinner patties, eaten alone or on a bun, lettuce wrap or pita! Just use a little more batter and pat it down as you like.
When the fritters are added to the pan, slightly flatten them down with the back of the spoon. This gives more contact with the pan, while somewhat retaining shape. It’ll be a few minutes on each side to achieve the desired golden brown.
Hot Tip: Make one first, and taste it before making the rest. This way, you can get a sense of the seasoning and adjust the salt & pepper accordingly. THEN, go on to make the rest of your fritters.
Bowl Assembly - In order of Timing
Barley - Cook barely according to directions. I use a rice cooker with 1 cup of barley, two cups of water and bit of pink salt mixed in at the end. Use barley as the base of your bowl.
Greek Yogurt, Garlic & Garlic Oil - Place garlic cloves in an oven safe ramekin and cover the cloves in olive oil. Place in oven at 400 until golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Set aside. When plating, dollop your Greek Yogurt in the bowl, drizzle with the now-garlic-infused olive oil and leave a clove on each plate.
Tomatoes - Douse cherry tomatoes or vine tomatoes in olive oil, salt + pepper and place on parchment paper in a baking pan. Broil on high and watch closely until they are soft, about 5 minutes depending on your oven. Add to your bowl.
Fresh Oregano and Mint leaves - Pick just the leaves from your fresh Oregano and Mint bunches. I posted about my herb keeper on stories and people were going crazy asking about it! So I am working on finding a proper alternative for you, since I can’t seem to find the original (Stay Tuned)
Add a lemon wedge and voila! You’ve perfectly recreated the Cauliflower Feta Fritter Bowl.