Summertime eating can mean less hot meals and more bits n bobs on the plate like raw veg and tapas style dishes such as the Greek inspired courgette fritters features in the July Foodini Club packs… or these, Tot Blocks!
What are Tot Blocks? Think mixed veggies grated together with breadcrumbs, cheese and egg shaped into cubes before being baked til crispy and served ready to dip into your favourite sauce (like our beetroot ketchup perhaps?!). Adaptable to what you might have going, we’re rockin’ the humble courgette which is, for any home grower, in abundance right now, and mixing with the mighty cauliflower (which kids may be mixed about…) seen here without the usual cheesy sauce coat!
So, read on for the how to…
Makes: approx 30-35 / Takes: 1.15hr (inc 25mins baking time)
Ingredients
- 1 small head of cauliflower
- 1 courgette
- 1 small brown onion
- 2 small or 1 large eggs
- 0.5-1 cup of grated cheddar (swap some out for parmesan if you fancy it) / vegan cheeze
- 0.75 cup of breadcrumbs (blend up slightly stale or dried bread to make your own. Our tip: Collect together any crusts and odd bits of bread in the freezer before blending and keeping in a bag in the freezer to use as you need)
- 1 tsp salt
- Optional herbs: oregano, thyme, parsley or chives
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F
- First cut the cauliflower into equally sized chunks and boil in salted water for 7-10 mins or until a fork pushed in goes in easily. Drain and set aside.
- Grate the courgette and pile into a tea towel. Gather up the edges around the courgette before squeezing down on the ball and twisting to get rid of the excess water. Add to a mixing bowl.
- Finely dice the onion as small as you can, and add to the bowl.
- Tip the cauliflower into a food processor and pulse a few times until it breaks down into rice-sized bits. You don’t want to put it on higher speed as it’ll become a puree! Tip the pieces into the bowl.
- Break in the egg(s), then add the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, salt and optional spice.
- Now the messy bit, get your hands in and squeeze it together! Combine until it sticks together as a mix. If it’s too wet add more breadcrumbs.
- Once the mix is ready, scoop out a tablespoon of mixture and squeeze and shape it together into a cube.
- Lay the cubes on an oiled baking tray and continue until they’re all done.
- Bake in the oven for 20mins before flipping the tots and baking a further 10-15mins until they’re golden and browned around the edges.
- Serve hot or warm!
Try shaking up the veggies – broccoli also works so well in place of the cauliflower or mixed with. Potato can be a grate (see what we did there?) addition too… Delicious with a dipping sauce!