Vegan nuggets
By Juliet Sear
Rustle up a batch of vegan nuggets, packed with cannellini beans, cauliflower and carrot. They make great kids’ party food that everyone can enjoy, or serve as an after-school snack
-
Prep:20 mins
Cook:40 mins
plus 1 hr chilling - Easy
Nutrition per serving
-
kcal 55
-
fat 1g
-
saturates 0g
-
carbs 8g
-
sugars 1g
-
fibre 2g
-
protein 3g
-
salt 0.2g
Ingredients
- 300g cauliflower florets (or ¾ small cauliflower)
- 2 carrots, chopped (about 165g)
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp yeast extract
- 400g can cannellini beans, drained
- 50g gram (chickpea) flour
- olive oil, for the baking tray
- 100g gram flour, plus a little extra
- 100g breadcrumbs (use gluten-free if necessary)
Method
Pulse the cauliflower, carrots and onion in a food processor until very finely chopped, like rice. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the mix for 12-15 mins until softened. Add the garlic and fry for a further 1 min, then take off the heat and stir in the nutritional yeast and yeast extract. Set aside.
Blend the beans into a mushy purée in a food processor, then add to the veggie mix and combine well. Stir in the flour and season. Put in the fridge to firm up for 1 hr.
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and coat with a little olive oil. To make the coating, mix the gram flour with 150ml water using a fork so it resembles beaten egg, then season. Scatter the extra gram flour on a plate and fill a second with the breadcrumbs.
Roll the bean mixture into walnut-sized pieces, then flatten to form nugget shapes. Dip the pieces first in the gram flour, then in the gram batter, and finally roll in the breadcrumbs – handle carefully as they will be a little soft. When the nuggets are fully coated, lay them out on the prepared tray.
Bake for 20 mins, then use tongs to turn each nugget over and bake for a further 15 mins until they are dark golden and crisp. Leave to cool for 20 mins before serving with your choice of dipping sauces.
