In honor of the Super Bowl yesterday (and despite our 49ers losing the game), we wanted to share one of our favorite recipes that we've been teaching as a part of our Appe-teaser Cooking Class for some time now. These fritters are so profoundly satisfying for so many reasons - they're light yet satisfying, gluten free, easy to make, and absolutely delicious! We're willing to bet that they were better than most of the food folks had yesterday while watching the Big Game - we just hope you'll make them sooner than next year's showdown!
Ingredients:
For the Pea Spread:
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more to thin if necessary
For the Fritters:
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 2 1/2 cups worth)
1/2 cup chickpea flour
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons canola oil for frying
Directions:
Prepare the pea spread by combining the peas, mint leaves, garlic, walnuts, parmesan, lemon juice, pepper flakes and sea salt in a food processor or blender. Process until finely chopped, scraping down the sides as necessary.
With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Process until everything is well-combined but still a little chunky. Do not over process the spread. Taste and add more salt or pepper to taste. Transfer spread to serving bowl.
For the fritters, combine the cauliflower florets with 4 cups of water in a large pot. You may need to this step in batches. Bring to a boil and cook until cauliflower is tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain and pat the cauliflower dry. Transfer to a cutting board and finely-chop the florets.
Place the chopped cauliflower in a large bowl. Add the chickpea flour and toss until evenly coated. Stir in the cheese, scallions, egg, and salt.
Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot (you can test this by sprinkling a tiny drop of water in the pan, it should hiss when hot enough), add about 1/4 cup of cauliflower batter to the pan. You can use an ice cream scoop to measure batter into the pan. Use a spoon, spatula, or the backside of the measuring cup to flatten the fritter into a uniform shape. Add as many fritters to the pan as can fit without overcrowding.
Cook until browned and crisp on the underside, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip fritters and repeat on the opposite side. Once ready set fritters on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
Arrange fritters on a platter and serve with pea spread.