Cauliflower Fritters (with a vegan cream cheese topping)

Serves 4-6

For the fritters

Ingredients

• 200g cauliflower florets (1/2 cauliflower)
• 2 large leaves of kale
• 1 small leek
• 100g (3/4 cup) fine yellow cornmeal
• 100g (1 generous cup) chickpea flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 200ml (7/8 cup) almond milk
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• Sunflower oil for frying

Method 

1. Cut the cauliflower into small florets, slice the leek finely and strip the kale leaves from the stem and chop.
2. Mix together the cornmeal, chickpea flour and baking powder, stir in the almond milk. Season with paprika and smoked paprika and salt, stir until it resembles a thick paste. Stir in the vegetables.
3. Heat a large frying pan and add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil. Heat the oil until a drop of batter bubbles when you add it to the frying pan.
4. Carefully drop 1 tablespoon of the fritter mix into the frying pan. Fry about 4 fritters at once, but don’t over-crowd the frying pan. Fry the fritters on both sides until they are golden and they feel firm. You don’t want any raw batter remaining within the fritter.
5. Top with the cream cheese mixture or serve it as a dip on the side.

Top Tip: Try with various spices such as Aleppo pepper and sumac. Mint, basil and coriander can all be added for flavour.

Per 100g Calories: 131, Carbohydrates: 20.0g, Sugars: 1.5g, Fat: 2.0g, Saturates: 0.2g, Protein: 6.4g, Salt: 0.37g

For the Cream Cheese

Ingredients

• 50g (1/2 cup) walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 100g (3/4 cup) cashew cheese
• 1 lime, juice and zest
• 1 tbsp chives, chopped
• Pinch salt and pepper

Method

1. Mix the walnuts with cream cheese. Add lime juice and zest and chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Top Tip:  As an alternative to cashew cheese use a shop bought vegan cream cheese, or strain soya yoghurt in muslin pressed into a sieve over a bowl to thicken up.

Per 100g Calories: 497, Carbohydrates: 10.0g, Sugars: 3.3g, Fat: 43.0g, Saturates: 6.9g, Protein: 16.0g, Salt: 0.20g

Recipes from: Demuths Cookery School

Seen in March 2018 (Issue 36) of Vegan Life magazine