This was definitely one of those recipes I had to make to believe that it was even possible. I came across the recipe from my friend Robert, who made them last week for his family and raved about them. And…something of the like had been up and on Pinterest for awhile. I never pinned it though because I was wondering how that might work. Granted, I have a ton of other recipes that involve using cauliflower as the “bread” part of a dish…but this one…this one I never pinned.
But with Robert’s seal of approval…and with a head of cauliflower in my crisper drawer from my last CSA bin…I figured…why not give it a shot? It could bake while I did my circuit training and then as it was finishing up, I could heat up the sauce to dip it in.
So, with massive thanks to Robert and to Healthier Every Day on Tumblr, I share with you this delicious, naturally gluten-free, and very nutritious take on breadsticks.
Recipe:
Servings: 4 (two slices per serving, as pictured)
Time: Prep 10 minutes; Bake 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, grated
- 1 whole egg, plus one egg white, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup 2% shredded mozzarella cheese
- Herbs and spices – whatever you love!
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together (except oil) in a large bowl until evenly distributed.
Line a Pyrex dish with parchment paper and use olive oil to grease the parchment paper.
Spread and flatten the cauliflower mixture on the parchment paper evenly – about 1 inch thick. Square off the edges so it looks like a rectangle or square.
Bake for 40 minutes until slightly dried out, browning, and firm to the touch.
Remove from oven and using a spatula carefully peel away from parchment paper. Flip over and return to oven for 10 more minutes.
**They are a little eggy, but the longer you cook them, the more bread-like and crispy they become.
Enjoy!
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As a dipping sauce, I heated up a serving of Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce. It was a nice pairing.
Now, as far as how I seasoned this massive mixture of cauliflower, I simply threw in (and I didn’t measure…just eyeballed it all) some dried parsley, some dried oregano, some dried basil, some dried thyme, some dill weed, some dried rosemary, a touch of garlic powder, and a little dash of ground red pepper. I also mixed in some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. My co-worker had suggested some of my gluten-free breadcrumbs…but I was hungry and didn’t want to fuss with it…this time. I have a feeling I’ll totally be making this again and will include those.
Needless to say…while they aren’t exactly the same texture as breadsticks, they are healthy, low calorie, low carb, and very nutritious. And, they smell like pizza hut breadsticks as they are baking. How awesome is that?
A serving (that’s 2 pieces) will set you back only 95 calories and 4 grams of fat. One serving also provides 6 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of protein. Filling…while also not adding to the waistline. Gotta love that.
Looking to incorporate more vegetables in your diet…this is a great way to do it. I recommend giving it a try. I loved them and can’t wait to make them again…and see how else I can dress up the recipe.
The Celiathlete 