These meatless little nuggets will satisfy even the most diehard meat eaters in your family. They are so flavourful and satisfying. They make a wonderful make ahead snack or appetizer or even as a meatless meal with a side. A key to getting the right texture is to make sure you get as much moisture out of the cauliflower as possible. The best most durable and re-useable tool I have found for this is a nut milk bag to squeeze out the moisture. Ellie’s Best makes the best nut milk bags I have found (use code: rocksanddirt for 10% off your order) The spice mix makes much more than you need so just store the extra in an airtight container for future recipes.
Pulse the raw pecans until they are the consistency of fine bread crumbs, add 1 tsp of spice mix and set aside. Place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until cauliflower is broken into small pieces. Do not over-pulse.
Take the cauliflower and place it in a nut milk bag or two layers of cheesecloth and squeeze as much moisture out of the cauliflower as possible. I usually do this over a large bowl. Typically 1 large cauliflower will yield at least 1/2-3/4 cup of liquid.
Pulse garlic and add the cauliflower, spices and macadamia nuts and pulse until a tight mixture forms. Add the mozzarella and pulse very briefly. Form dough into nugget size forms and coat in the pecan breadcrumbs. Place nuggets on a wax paper lined plate. You can make these ahead, set them in the refrigerator and bake them up later in the day or the next day. Otherwise preheat the oven to 425 F and place nuggets on a parchment lined tray and bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes, turning once during cooking. Serve warm with ranch sauce or lemon garlic aioli.
Place all of the spices in a small bowl and mix well. Take 1-tsp of the spice mix and add to the pecans. Place the rest of the spice mix in a small container for other recipes.
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
Ingredients
Directions
Pulse the raw pecans until they are the consistency of fine bread crumbs, add 1 tsp of spice mix and set aside. Place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until cauliflower is broken into small pieces. Do not over-pulse.
Take the cauliflower and place it in a nut milk bag or two layers of cheesecloth and squeeze as much moisture out of the cauliflower as possible. I usually do this over a large bowl. Typically 1 large cauliflower will yield at least 1/2-3/4 cup of liquid.
Pulse garlic and add the cauliflower, spices and macadamia nuts and pulse until a tight mixture forms. Add the mozzarella and pulse very briefly. Form dough into nugget size forms and coat in the pecan breadcrumbs. Place nuggets on a wax paper lined plate. You can make these ahead, set them in the refrigerator and bake them up later in the day or the next day. Otherwise preheat the oven to 425 F and place nuggets on a parchment lined tray and bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes, turning once during cooking. Serve warm with ranch sauce or lemon garlic aioli.
Place all of the spices in a small bowl and mix well. Take 1-tsp of the spice mix and add to the pecans. Place the rest of the spice mix in a small container for other recipes.
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.