Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside – yet light and healthy – totally guilt-free. You’d almost think they’d been fried, but guess what – they’re baked! Croquettes are typically deep-fried breaded treats – but these are WAY lower in carbs and fat than fried potato croquettes with traditional breading, because they are made of cauliflower and baked instead of fried. I used panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) for breading, but take note – you need some oil to make the panko turn brown and crisp in the oven (it will stay dead white if you don’t use any oil – I learned this the hard way for all of us. You’re welcome.). A blast of olive oil cooking spray before baking does the trick!
If you want to get fancy, you could add a bit of filling to the middle (like a small cube of cheese or ham, if you’re into that sort of thing) – just form the croquette around it.
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CRISPY BAKED CAULIFLOWER CROQUETTES
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Inspired by Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian – she tells you how to make baked croquettes out of all kinds of things! I used her technique. (I might croquette some other things. I’ll let you know.)
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Ingredients:
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Leftovers from cauliflower mash with parmesan, garlic, and butter (I had enough to make about 7-8 croquettes.. it seemed like maybe 2 1/2 to 3 cups? I should have measured, sorry, but it doesn’t really matter because you just make however many croquettes you got, my friend)
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6 T. cornstarch
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a few T. water
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fine sea salt
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freshly ground pepper
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1/2 to 1 c. panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) – you could substitute regular breadcrumbs, or even ground nuts!
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cooking spray (olive oil cooking spray is nice for this)
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optional for dijonnaise dipping sauce: vegan mayo + dijon mustard (a couple tablespoons of each, mixed together)
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Equipment: non-stick baking sheet
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Method:
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Get ready: Preheat oven to 400 degreees F. Liberally spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mix cornstarch with just enough water to make it a thin sauce consistency (kind of like regular yogurt – not Greek though, that’s too thick). Add a pinch of salt and a little ground pepper to the cornstarch mixture, and mix well.
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To make the croquettes: Form little patties out of your mash (mine made 7-8 – just make however many you can out of your leftovers). I thought it was a bit wet and worried it wouldn’t stick together but IT DID. Dip each croquette in the cornstarch mixture (which helps add crispiness plus makes your panko stick on) – then roll in panko. Place on greased baking sheet. Lightly press the panko into each croquette. Spray tops with cooking spray (I know it seems random but do not skip this! it makes them crispy and brown).
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To bake those bad boys: Bake ’em 30-40 minutes, to the desired degree of golden brownness, turning over once halfway through. I thought the turning over would be more fraught with peril, but they did stick together! I served mine with dijonnaise dipping sauce (1/2 vegan mayo, 1/2 dijon mustard). YUM!
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Those look so good, Lani! I can almost taste them!