Cauliflower Breadsticks

By cmschnettler

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, large (7" - 8" wide)
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup + 3/4 cup (for topping) Mozzarella/Tex Mex cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp Italian herb seasoning or any dried herbs like rosemary, basil, parsley
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Marinara sauce for dipping

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from ifoodreal.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place cauliflower in any oven proof baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees F. I used Pyrex glass pie dish. Alternatively, you could microwave or steam it. The idea is to cook the cauliflower, so it releases the moisture and we squeeze it out.
Line a bowl with a linen kitchen/tea towel. I used cheap tea towels from a Dollar store. They are called something like glass tea towels and are kind of linen mesh. Much better than cheesecloth as they do not rip and are widely available. You probably have some on hand. You can also wash and reuse them.
Then you grab the towel by the corners, holding with one hand just below the corners, and start squeezing the liquid out with another hand. The process will take about 3–5 minutes and you should squeeze about 1 cup of liquid. Use a measuring cup as a point of reference. If the liquid is hot, let the cauliflower mash cool down a bit and proceed again.
Open the towel and the cauliflower should be pretty dry. Add seasonings to it as per the recipe. I used egg whites instead of an egg and it worked! Any cheese works. Full or low fat, Mozzarella or Tex Mex or even Parmesan. Use grated or shredded cheese and when measuring do not pack.
After you make the “dough”, transfer it onto any baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The “dough” won’t be sticky and that’s OK. Egg whites and cheese will act as a binder during the baking process.
No need to spray the parchment paper with cooking spray either. The breadsticks won’t stick. More than that, the parchment paper underneath the breadsticks will be moist after baking. And that’s OK too. It doesn’t mean the breadsticks will fall apart. The moisture releases during the baking process therefore no need for cooking spray. I was asked before if pizza stone would work and I don’t know.
Form a rectangle, using your hands, approximately 9″ x 7″ in size and 1/4″ thick. Press the “dough” a bit to make it stay together and use spatula to make the edges straight. Do not worry, the egg whites and cheese will bind everything together during the baking process. It won’t fall apart.
And bake. All ovens vary. I own simple electric oven and it took the breadsticks 18 minutes. Just watch it when you see the “dough” becoming golden brown on top, it’s time to take it out. Then you top the breadsticks with cheese and bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese melts and broil for nice golden brown crust.Remove the breadsticks from the oven and transfer to a cutting board, holding by the ends of parchment paper.
Let the breadsticks cool down for 5 minutes before cutting. I waited with the first batch and the breadsticks were easy to cut. With the second one I didn’t and it was a bit of a mess. Use serrated/bread knife to cut into 12 breadsticks.
Serve immediately with marinara sauce.