Cauliflower Fritters

Cauliflower fritters made with ham, cheese, and sun dried tomato are packed with flavor and nutrition

The other day I was in the produce section of one of our local grocery stores well known for its produce selection and prices and I saw a little bag of sun dried tomatoes. I knew I had to have them and use them to jazz up a few recipes I had planned, including this one. I grabbed the bag, finished my shopping and hurried home, reflecting that this is not actually the first time I've made a tomato-related impulse buy. Hmmm.

Nonetheless, the SDT really added more than its share of flavor and heartiness to this dish and I'm betting you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

This makes enough for at least 4 adults

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
1lb ham (uncured ham for your best paleo option), cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1/2lb grass fed cheese, goat cheese, cheese substitute, or however you paleo, chopped small or grated
3 large eggs, farm fresh for preference
2 Tbsp almond or coconut flower, to help hold the fritters together
2 cloves garlic, diced and smashed
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Chop up your cauliflower and steam or boil it until it is just barely fork tender
2. While the cauliflower is steaming, contemplate what you'd do with the millions you'd make if you could invent an easy way to clean your counters (and floors and walls) after chopping up a cauliflower. Then chop and grate the ham, cheese, and SDT

3. Drain cauliflower, then return it to the pot or a large bowl. Mash it with a fork until is overall soft but still chunky. Take a clean dishcloth or handful of paper toweling and press the cauliflower to pull out as much water as you can, lest the mixture get soupy
4. Add in the eggs, salt and pepper, and almond or coconut flour, and combine

5. Mix in the garlic, ham, cheese, and SDT
6. Put a non-stick frying pan or skillet on the stove and get it hot. Be sure to add enough grapeseed oil or ghee to keep the surface stick-free

7. Once the skillet is hot, roll a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into a loose ball with your hands and place the ball on the hot surface, pressing down gently to create the fritter shape. The fritters won't shrink much as they cook so be generous with spacing

8. Unlike pancakes, which form bubbles and let you know when they are ready to flip, the fritters won't be very forthright about timing. Check to see if a fritter is cooked on one side by gently sliding a spatula under it. If the the spatula smoothly picks the fritter right up, go ahead and flip it, otherwise retreat with your spatula and give it another minute. With my pan and my stove, it took about 3 minutes on one side and 90 seconds on the flip side (pun obviously and gigglingly intended)

9. Once your fritters are cooked through and the cheese is bubbly, serve and devour. Enjoy!!

How did this recipe go for you? Ideas or suggestions for fun, fresh, and funky other ingredients? Like each recipe on this blog I tried to create something even non paleo-ers would enjoy. Do you have non-paleo friends? Firstly, why? (only kidding), Secondly, what did they think when you made this? Looking forward to hearing from you in the comments.