Since it was MLK weekend, Mark, my sister, and I decided to head down to LA to visit my grandma and hang out with cousins. Whenever I visit my southern Californian relatives, excessive eating is always on the itinerary. I swear, all of my clean eating is mostly for those days where I really indulge in food. Although we were only in LA for Saturday and part of Sunday, we all managed to eat at a Japanese restaurant, Korean restaurant, Chinese restaurant, get drinks from two tea places, and donuts from Krispy Kreme. Don’t get me wrong, all of that food was delicious and I of course maintained my vegetarian diet, but I think I ate more white rice than I’ve eaten in years.
We headed home Sunday afternoon after some long drawn out good-byes (because, let’s be real, we didn’t want to say good-bye to one another), and in between errands and getting some work done on Monday, I didn’t have very much time to cook and play photographer. My mom suggested that I tried making these cheesy cauliflower breadsticks, which, may I add, turned out tasting wonderful and much less greasy than all of the Chinese food I had over the weekend. Imagine all of the cheesy, basil-y breadstick flavors from your favorite pizza place without all of the extra calories and fat. By the way, this comes with a marinara sauce! Recipe adapted from Real House Moms.
All you’ll need for this recipe is an 8-Cup Food Processor
- For the Breadstick:
- 1 head of raw cauliflower
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves of garlic (peeled)
- 1 Tablespoon dried basil
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- ¾ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- ½ tsp pepper
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line baking sheet with either a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Chop the cauliflower so that you remove the stem and only have the florets. Place all of the cauliflower florets and garlic into the food processor. Process until the cauliflower has been 'riced' and there are no large chunks.
- In a large bowl, mix the riced cauliflower with ½ cup parmesan cheese, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, pepper, basil, and egg. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
- Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and shape it into a rectangle with a rubber spatula and fork. It should be about ¼ inch thick.
- Bake in the oven for about 11 minutes and then remove it from the oven and add the ¾ cup shredded mozzarella. Bake it for an additional 5 minutes to melt and 'brown' the cheese. Be sure to check on it around the 2 or 3 minute mark to make sure it doesn't burn. After about 3-4 minutes, cut into it carefully and eat!
The marinara sauce for the recipe is simple. You’ll need 2 cloves of minced garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, a can of tomato sauce, 1/2 Tbsp dried basil, and some pepper to taste. In a small pot, sautee the garlic with the olive oil and then add the tomato sauce, basil, and pepper. Simmer over low heat until ready to serve.
I loved every ooey-gooey cheesy bite with the added tomato-ey flavor! Who would’ve known that I was eating a cruciferous vegetable? Anyways, have a fantastic rest of your week. Give this quick and easy recipe a shot if you have time. It may be the perfect filling after school snack for your kiddos! Stay happy and healthy, y’all!
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