CAULIFLOWER FRITTERS WITH FUNKY BRIGHT GREEN FAVA SPREAD
I know a lot of you want to include more organic food in your diet, but for many, the perception is that they are too expensive. This is not necessarily true. It’s an incredibly worthwhile thing to want to do – it’s really the easiest way to get more nutrient density and less pesticide load, and walk lightly on the earth. There are many things you can do that will reduce your food costs and these are my top 8.
- Cook from Scratch: This is the most powerful way to reduce your food costs – muesli you make (even if using the most expensive organic, sulphur free dried fruits and nuts, will cost you about 1/4 the price of a packaged, pre – prepared one.
- Buy and Eat Seasonally: Very often, when something is in season, it will often be cheaper than it’s conventional counterpart. Last summer, organic mangoes were cheaper than conventional (when they were in season), as were apples this winter. Thus we ate a lot of mango (not that that is a problem!) over another more expensive fruit, but that is seasonal eating.
- Buy Direct from the Grower: Generally, the closer to the grower you can get, the cheaper it will be. Buy from the farm, or further out on the food chain, at a Farmers Market. This includes meat and eggs.
- Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The model varies enormously from farm to farm, but the idea is you pay to join. This money then gives the farmer a stable income to plant and produce his/her crop. The return to you is the crop – which can be distributed in a variety of ways – it might be a weekly box of vegetables and fruit.
- Buy from a Bulk Bin: ANYTHING that is in a packet will cost you a lot, lot more.
- Reduce your Reliance on Meat: Eating meat everyday is not an environmentally sustainable option. Rather, look at more grain and legume, and vegetable dishes – making sure they are well balanced vegetarian meals.
- Plan the Menu for the Week Ahead: This is a very old fashioned thing to do, but boy does it work. It avoids wastage, and also saves you time.
- Look for Seconds when you Shop: Buy second fruits from the farmer direct, or look for specials (end of season apples for example that might not be pristine for eating, but great for an apple pie or crumble).
A good example of using simple seasonal vegetables to provide a cheap meal is the Cauliflower Fritter, and using older broad beans to puree into a delicious dip. The fritters are also a great example of using the more expensive (but exceptionally nutrient dense) egg in a way that extends it. These are great for breakfast, lunch or dinner with a salad, and also make a great snack. They are so simple to make and keep well. As the season changes, you could replace the cauliflower with zucchini or corn, and if you have any left over cooked grain, you could replace the bread-crumbs with that.
Makes approx 14 Fritters
1/2 medium cauliflower, cut into small florets, with a bit of stem
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unbleached plain white spelt or wheat flour (potato flour or arrowroot for gluten free)
2 tablespoons (approx) fresh or stale breadcrumbs
1 – 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or spring onions
handful fresh herbs – whatever is around, right now this would be basil or corinader
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil for frying
Steam the florets until soft, drain and pat dry (you don’t want water in the batter!). Mash half and if the remaining half has been cut into fairly large bits, chop them into smaller bits.
Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and whisk together. Add the flour, bread-crumbs, chives, herbs, salt and pepper and whisk together. Add the cauliflower, and if it seems to thick, just add a little milk, or another egg.
Heat enough oil to coat the base of a medium fry pan well, and add desired amount of batter – 1 tablespoon is good. Cook for approx 2 – 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel before serving.
Funky Bright Green Fava Bean Dip
With the funkiest of colours, this dip is fabulous just about anywhere–with raw vegetables, heaped onto fritters, tossed into cooked pasta – even scooped onto cooked fish. It’s also a great way to use the older beans, and frozen will work just fine. This will keep for 3 days or so in the fridge.
1 1/2 cups fava (broad) beans. This is measured when peeled from the pod. They will measure 1 cup when peeled from their skins.
1 garlic – crushed
pinch sea salt or to taste
10 – 15 gm parmesan or pecorino cheese, finely grated
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons lemon juice – or to taste
Bring a small pot of water to the boil, add a pinch of sea salt and add the broad beans. Young beans will take about 1 minute, and older and larger beans about 3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water. They will now easily slip out of their skins.
Add the peeled beans and all ingredients to a food processor – puree or mash well until you have a thick paste. Taste and add a little more salt, cheese or lemon juice as required.
Store in a sealed, clean glass jar in the fridge.
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These look delicious!