Thread: Cooking questions re. zucchini and cauli.

Okay...I have a few questions. I have been reading the threads here with recipes and I have found several that I can not wait to try. One of them is the cheeseburger pie recipe. I need some help though. One of my best cool weather foods is tater tot casserole. I've read that many people use cauliflower to make mock mashed potatoes? I've never done that and am really not sure how, and can it be done with frozen cauliflower? I think I can tweak the cheeseburger pie recipe with the mock mashed potatoes and make something pretty similar to my beloved tatertot casserole.

Another question--I LOVE fried zucchini *mouth is drooling right now thinking of it* but I'm on Induction so using some sort of substitute breading isn't in the cards yet but I'm wondering if anyone has tried frying it WITHOUT a breading? Either shredded or just cut in to circles? I'm thinking that shredded could give me something similar to shoestring potatoes. Yes, I could try this stuff out myself but I'd hate to ruin a perfectly good zucchini if there is someone who has tried this and had results, good or bad I bought the zucchini to be sliced, topped with butter, vanilla, Splenda and cinnamon and baked until tender. VERY yummy!!!! So ruining one if my frying idea doesn't work would be very sad for THATH :(

Thoughts?

Jessica,
First, look in the recipe database under "Vegetables and Side Dishes" and then in "Starch Substiutes" and you will find a bunch of ideas for mashed cali. Both Maggie and Marcie have listed great recipes for this.
As far as zucchini, I have breaded it with almond flour (I dust it with whey protein powder, dip it in beated egg, and then in ground almonds) and it is great. I make fried mozzarella and chicken cutlets the same way. After induction, this is a great option. But, try this: dip thickly-sliced zucchini or yellow squash in Italian dressing, and put it on the grill, flipping once, and cook until tender-crisp. Delicious!!
I also make zucchini pancakes: grated zucchini, a little minced onion, salt, pepper to taste and a little shake of nutmeg. Toss together and then stir in beaten egg and a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten, protein powder, or a PINCH of xanthan gum to thicken slightly, and then fry in little circles like latkes. Serve with sour cream and they are terrific for breakfast or a sidedish with any meat.

Found'em. TYVM Trina

An induction-friendly breading is half ground pork rinds, half Parmesan cheese, or ALL Parmesan cheese works fine too! Dip your zucchini slices in beaten egg, then press firmly in the breading mixture of your choice. Fry in a little oil til crispy. SOOOO good! AND induction friendly to boot!

I do eggplant that way too, and even chicken strips or catfish or whatever you like fried.

Char

Oh, yeah, Char, I forgot about that one! Really good, too. I use the hot-n-spicy pork rinds mixed with parmesan to make chicken fingers. Yum!!

After I posted this I thought about that. That's how I plan on making my chicken parmesan this week. It dawned on me that, well if I can use it for chicken, why not zucchini *laugh*.

I put some cooking oil or olive oil in a pan, thinly slice my zucchini, and fry until its golden brown. It's delicious, and my DH and I will almost fight over it. It's not "fried zucchini" tasting... tastes more like roasted zucchini, but it's still awesome.

I'm a squash fanatic...and one of my favorite dishes - slice up yello squash and zuchini squash and layer them in a oven safe pan (like a 9x13) as you put in each layer, cover with parmesean cheese, and drizzle butter over it. next layer...same thing..I usually do 3 layers...and then you bake it for 30-45 minutes at 400 or so... I stick stuff in the oven - turn it on, and check it every 20 minutes or so. So watch it...and if it looks done...it's done.

Delicious....Delicious

Parmesan KICKS BUTT for this. You'll think you've died and gone to heaven

I made chicken parmesan tonight. I used a mixture of crushed pork rinds and parmesan cheese to coat the chicken, added my moooooozerella cheese, topped with a bit of tomato sauce and rotel and it was WONDERFUL!!!!! The kids really liked it too!

Can something else be used instead of the pork rinds?

My favorite chicken coating is just plain old grated parmesan. Nothing fancy, just the Kraft style you get out of the green shaker.

Mix a few herbs and spices with it and fry chicken as you normally would. Comes out great