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Cauliflower-Cheese
Rissoles -- a little like Vegetarian Crab Cakes
Experimenting recently with ”Riced Cauliflower,” which has come into a certain
vogue, particularly among vegetarians and gluten avoiders, I tried making a
vegetarian “meatball” for my granddaughter Clara, who does not eat meat. In the
course of those trials, I realized I can make something as useful as Riced
Cauliflower, but much cheaper, as well as easier to source, from actual
cauliflower. And I could then turn that into a baked cauliflower-cheese cake,
or “rissole.” With a little sauce over it, that rissole makes a very nice
appetizer, hot or at room temperature. Conceivably I could also make a larger
cauliflower-cheese “burger” by shaping the cake differently and serve it on a
toasted bun..
It’s convenient to make these
rissoles ahead of time, then serve them at room temperature, or quickly reheat
them in the oven to serve them warm. Similarly, the sauce, which is very easy,
should be made ahead.
The recipe, based on a small
cauliflower, makes enough rissoles for appetizers for 4 to 6 people. To make a
larger batch, use a medium-sized cauliflower and increase the other
ingredients, except for the egg, by 50%. Or double the entire recipe.
The rissoles
1 small cauliflower (about 1-1/4
to 1-1/2 pounds, including leaves)
1 cup (lightly packed) grated
cheddar cheese
1/2 cup dry unseasoned
breadcrumbs, plus 2 extra tablespoons for finishing
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
A large pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons Dijon or brown
mustard
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cut away the leaves from the
cauliflower and cut cauliflower pieces and their stems off the main stalk.
Place those on a microwaveable plate and cook in the microwave at full power
for three minutes at a time up to a total of 12 minutes. Test for doneness by
cutting off a little piece and biting into it. If it’s tender, cool the
cauliflower. If still crunchy, roast another 3 minutes.
Put a third of the cooked
cauliflower pieces on a cutting board and chop them finely with a chef’s knife.
Transfer to a bowl, and do the same chopping twice more for the remaining
cauliflower.
To the chopped cauliflower in the
bowl, add all the remaining ingredients except the egg, and mix together well.
Taste the mixture (before the egg is added), to be sure the salt is enough,
since cauliflowers vary in size. Add a little salt if necessary. Beat the egg
lightly in a bowl and combine it thoroughly into the cauliflower mixture. The
mixture is somewhat sticky. It’s easier to handle if refrigerated for half an
hour or more.
Set oven for 325 degrees. Grease
or oil a baking sheet, such as a cookie pan. Put the extra 2 tablespoons of
breadcrumbs on a small plate. With hands (rub them with a little oil to make
the mixture stick to them less), make small cakes, all about the same size, of
the cauliflower mixture and touch them on the breadcrumbs plus sprinkle them
with a little more of the crumbs. Flatten cakes somewhat and place them on the
greased pan.
Bake the cakes ten minutes in the preheated oven. Slide a
thin metal spatula under them and turn them over. Bake another ten minutes,
then turn the cakes again. Bake for a final ten minutes, or until they are
looking a little golden.
Serve warm,or at room temperature, arranged on a platter,
accompanied with a sauce for spooning over them. Or they can be refrigerated,
then reheated briefly in the oven on a flat pan to serve hot.
Quick Rose Sauce (a Rémoulade)
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
A large pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together
well. Place in a decorative small bowl to serve with the cauliflower rissoles.
