Garlicky Cauliflower Medallions (without precooking the cauliflower)

I had a different blog post planned, a twist on a traditional Slovak dish. On Monday I sat down to upload my photos from my external hard drive and…nothing.

My drive crashed, along with photos from the last eight years of our life. Good news? The data recovery place says they can recover it. Bad news? It’s expensive. So now I’m debating how much all those photos are worth in monetary terms. It’s an expensive (money or photos wise)lesson to save backups. Cloud storage, here I come.

So without any photos yesterday, inspired by this post over at Bint Rhoda’s Kitchen, I made these savoury cauliflower pancakes. I know cauliflower is all over the Paleo/gluten free/low carb world, but they always require cauliflower that has already been cooked. Because of my laziness In my quest for simplicity, that extra step is always a deterrent. It’s just one.more.thing. Instead, I used a cauliflower that had been on my balcony, which this winter had served as extra fridge space until it recently became extra freezer space. Partially frozen, my mini food processor managed to blend up the cauliflower and then I squeezed out the extra water. If you have exotic ingredients like xanthum gum or guar gum, a sprinkle helps keep the pancakes together, but the ‘gums’ are not at all necessary.

With lots of garlic, they were divine!

Savoury Cauliflower Pancakes
inspired by Jessica

1 med head cauliflower (700g, 1lb8oz)
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp (unrefined)salt, or to taste
4 eggs
fat for frying (lard)

Process frozen or partially frozen cauliflower in a food processor until cauliflower is finely ground. Let the cauliflower sit until it begins to melt, about five minutes or so. With your hands (or a cheesecloth if you want), squeeze the water out and transfer to another bowl. Mix in chopped or pressed garlic, salt (I used unrefined sea salt which isn’t quite as salty as normal salt, add to taste!), and eggs.

Heat up the frying pan, I found med-low to low the best temperature, and put in fat (I used lard). You want a decent skiff on fat. Form ping pong ball sized balls and flatten, fry for four min on one side, or until golden, and flip. If the pancake falls apart, it needs to cook longer. Cook for another two minutes on the other side. The pancakes will soak up the oil, so make sure to add more to the pan before frying the next batch. Enjoy!

Do you back up your photos? How valuable are your photos to you? Any cloud storage recommendations?

Shared at Natural Living Monday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Gluten Free Friday