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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Human genome typing and Cauliflower Fritters... there's a connection !

My mother is a good cook, but like many of her generation she believed that all vegetables needed a good stew... and some vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli etc. really don't smell good because of the sulphur compounds that get released when they are overcooked. I remember walking into the kitchen as a kid and getting hit by an invisible wall of cabbage :-(

We do try to get a lot of cruciferous vegetables in our diet ever since my wife got herself tested at 23 and me. If you haven't heard of it, check it out, it's an easy way to get genotyped and find out about your ancestry, health and genetic tendencies. Anyway, among the fun things we found out... like she is 2.3% neantherthal (most people of northern European descent have a significant % of neantherthal in them) and that she's genetically inclined to be a good athlete, we also found out that she has a higher risk for breast cancer. And that's where cruciferous vegetables come in, their amazing cancer fighting properties.

Have to still make them tasty though, or my family of picky eaters will not eat them.

I find cauliflower the easiest of these vegetables to make a tasty dish out of, like a gratin, curry roasted cauliflower, an aloo gobi or even mashing them up along with potatoes and parmesan for a healthier, lighter mashed potatoes. But absolutely nothing beats cauliflower fritters, they are easy to make, need just a few ingredients and look and taste amazing.

Here's the recipe:

Cauliflower Fritters

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower (riced)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chili flakes (Omit if you don't like spice)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp chopped parsley (You can also use 1 tsp dill)
3 oz (about 1/2 cup) mozzarella, in small cubes
1 oz (2 tbsp) grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs (beaten)
1/3rd cup flour (I use a mixture of almond flour and a gluten free flower mix)
1/4 cup oil for frying

Method:
1. Prepare riced califlower by microwaving cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl. To do this cut the cauliflower into florets, pop into bowl, cover in clingfilm and microwave for 5 minutes on high. Use potato masher to mash the cauliflower until it resembles rice. See picture below



Riced Cauliflower

2. Add salt, pepper, chili flakes (if using), chopped parsley (or dill), cubed mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
3. Add flour and stir again and then finally stir in the beaten eggs.
4. The mixture should resemble a thick batter now.
5. Heat oil in a shallow pan and pan fry spoonfulls of batter for 2-3 minutes on each side

Cauliflower Fritters

Tips:
In a hurry, you can use pre-shredded mozzarella, but it is worth cubing it if you have the time. The larger pieces of mozarella melt and some hit the hot oil and form caramalized bits of goodness, yum!

I serve these with a quick sauce with a 1.5 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 tsp of shriracha and 2 tsp of mayonaise.







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