BANTING "HASHBROWNS" - LCHF CAULIFLOWER FRITTERS

It's no secret that I love fried foods, and crunchy ones, at that. Something that's a tad difficult to come by at times on the LCHF eating plan. I also ADORE hashbrowns, and of course those are a definite no go for Banting, too. I know I'm not alone in these culinary cravings, so, fear not fellow fretters, the mighty cauliflower comes to the rescue, yet again!!! The best bit? You don't need fresh cauliflower for this (we all seem to run into difficulty either on stocks or price these days for fresh!) - frozen works perfectly.

I've been meaning to try this out for a while, and finally got my A into G last night to do so. Here, you lovely people, is a simple, inexpensive and tasty recipe for the closest thing I can get to hashbrowns on LCHF.

INGREDIENTS
Approx 3 cups of frozen cauliflower florets, cooked - I nuked mine in the microwave for 10 minutes on high, but you can steam them of course
3 eggs
3 chilli's, finely chopped (I like heat, you can adjust or leave them out entirely should you so wish)
1/2 a large onion, finely chopped
Seasonings as desired - I used Thyme and Woolie's Chermoula spice
Ghee / Butter Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS
Finely chop your chilli's and onion - I use my trusty Twister because it's just the easiest thing on earth and saves you from tears when chopping onions :P I'd highly recommend getting one of these bad boys if you don't have one or something similar in your kitchen arsenal. I also "riced" (chopped) the cauliflower for the mix. Whisk the 3 eggs well, add to your chopped veggie mix and combine with your chosen seasonings.

In a large pan (I used a small one at first but switched to a larger one that can accommodate three fritters comfortably after the first 2 I made), melt enough ghee at a medium temperature to start frying your fritters in. Though hashbrowns are done at high heat, here our main ingredient is cooked already and all we're really trying to achieve is cooking the egg (binding agent) all the way through to ensure our fritters stay intact - on a high heat you'll just burn the outer side without cooking the egg mix all the way through.

I used a heaped tablespoon of mix per fritter - place the mix gently in the pan and pat it down with the back of the spoon until you have a fairly even, flat fritter approximately 2cm in thickness. Don't mess with the raw fritter too much as it will come apart easily prior to the egg cooking. The best way to judge when it is ready to turn is you'll see the underside edges turn brown; you're ready to (gently!) flip them now and cook the other side.

Pro tip - these do get "soggy" while sitting on the side waiting patiently for their compadres to join them; to crisp them up and reheat them again I placed them on a baking tray in the oven on grill for about 5 minutes - they're then just like they were when they came out of the pan :)


And that's it - easy peasey yummy cauliflower fritters!!!! They're so tasty I even got up this morning and made some more - sans onion I added some broccoli and green beans, extra chopped chilli and chilli flakes and they are still delicious! Enjoy these, and let me know how they turn out for you and / or what tweaks you've made with your own batch.