Broccoli Fritter with Preserved Lemon Sheep Yogurt Sauce
It’s really no secret, broccoli is considered to be one of the top 12 power house vegetables we should be eating, according to webmd broccoli is filled with cancer fighting phytochemical compounds, vitamins including a serious dose of Vitamin C (135% of the RDI for one cup of broccoli) and minerals. Its bioactive compounds reduce inflammation. As a matter of fact the compound sulforaphane amply found in broccoli, has been shown to decelerate the biochemical action of aging by optimizing anti-oxidant gene expression. If you don’t believe me check out healthline. Broccoli has lots of fiber, which if you ask me is always a good thing. Broccoli has so many health benefits, I want my family to benefit and all four of my kids will eat their “trees”. But sometimes I get tired of the only way they will eat it, which is roasted with garlic, olive oil and salt, so I made up these little tender and tasty fritters. For kids they taste great dipped in ketchup but for the grown ups I made a sheep yogurt sauce with my obsession of the moment, preserved lemons. You can make this dairy-free by substituting plain almond or coconut yogurt. I made my preserved lemons using the New York Times Preserved Lemons recipe , seemed like a no-fail recipe. I also found this cute DIY preserved lemon making kit, could be fun and easy. Alternatively, you can just purchase a jar of Preserved Lemons here .
These fritters are pretty simple to make, when making them, use a soft hand as they are a little fragile but well worth it. Serve them as an appetizer with a small dollop of the preserved lemon sheep yogurt with dill or for a main dish, serve over an individual salad bowl with spoonfuls of the tasty yogurt sauce generously added to the one bowl meal. Garnish with sprouts and edible flowers. They are great as an appetizer or on top of a big salad as a healthy vegetarian main.
Makes 14 fritters/ Prep time 15 minutes/ cook time 25 minutes/ total time 40 minutes
Gather
For the fritters
1 lb broccoli/ 328 grams, about 1 medium head, cut into florets, fibrous stem removed
2 tablespoons / 29.57 ml avocado or olive oil
3 small leaks or 1 large one, white parts only, cut into semi-circle ribbons and rinsed well
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, whisked well
1/3 cup/ 43 grams almond flour
1 teaspoon / 5.69 g garlic powder
1 tablespoon/ 14.3 g nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon/ 14.3 g flax meal
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.84 g cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.84 g paprika powder
1 1/2 teaspoon/ 8.53 g salt
3-4 turns freshly cracked pepper
Olive oil or avocado oil spray for frying fritters
For the yogurt sauce
1 cup/125 grams plain sheep meal yogurt or vegan plain yogurt of choice
1/4 rind of a preserved lemon
3 tablespoons / 12.6 g of fresh dill, minced
Make
The fritters
Place the broccoli florets into medium size steam tray in a medium pot and cook for 10 minutes total. Remove the broccoli florets from the stove and transfer to a bowl to cool.
In a large pain, heat up the oil of choice over a medium flame, then add the leeks and onion. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the leaks are soft and the onions are translucent. Stir frequently. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat.
Empty the bowl of broccoli onto a large chopping board and roughly chop. Transfer back into the bowl. Stir in the eggs, the leek and onion mixture, almond flour, garlic powder, nutritional yeast flakes, flax meal, cumin and paprika powders, salt and pepper and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a large food processor and pulse for 15 seconds. Transfer the mixture back to the bowl.
Heat up a large pan, give the heated pan 3-4 sprays of oil. Working in batches and using a medium cookie scoop, drop the mounded balls of the broccoli mixture into the pan, you should be able to put 4 balls of the mixture into the pan. Using a spatula, gently flatten each ball into a 1/3” patty and cook on the first side 2-3 minutes, careful not to burn. The fritters are a delicate so flip the fritters over gently to the next side and cook another 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and continue the process till complete.
For the yogurt sauce
Place the yogurt into a small bowl.
Cut the inner flesh of the rind of the lemon and discard. Lightly rinse the lemon rind. Cut the rind into small pieces, not quite a mince.
Add the minced dill to the bowl and with a whisk, mix well. This can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Developed by Anna Getty of Amalgam Kitchen.
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