Cheesy Cauliflower Tater Tots

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So officially my week of low carb posts is over.  But I'll be posting low carb recipes for awhile since I got inspired and just kept cooking this week!  One of my favorites is these Cauliflower tater tots!  I got the idea when I was eating a bowl of the Cheesy Cauliflower Puree from last week and I had some leftovers.  Since they were so like potatoes in texture I thought they might work the same way as potatoes in other recipes and wanted to try and make tater tots out of them.  Well my first attempt was a disaster!  I heated some oil in a pan and piped the puree out of a pastry bag but within a few seconds they disintegrated into the oil.  Right away it was clear that frying them this way wouldn't work.  I mulled it over the rest of the day and the next day I had a brainstorm.  I cooked a new batch of cauliflower but for half as long as I do for the puree.  I then ran them through my magic bullet with some cream, butter and cheese but only on pulse until I had a partly chunky consistency.  Then I whipped a few egg whites and folded the cauliflower mixture into it to give it some body.  I put that mixture into a pastry bag and piped it into one inch lengths onto a greased cookie sheet.  I baked them for about 10 minutes to dry them out and firm them up.  THEN I pan fried them!  It worked!  You can skip the frying because they are good right out of the oven, but the frying definitely adds a more authentic feel to them.  Now a brief disclaimer.  If you eat one of these, and then a real tater tot or hash brown, it's going to be different.  You can't get quite that same crunch as a potato out of it--though they are crunchy to a degree.  If you are someone who has decided to eliminate potatoes and other starches from your diet though and you miss fries, tater tots, or anything with a crispy fried coating, then these are going to taste like heaven to you!  They did to me and I'd only been eating low carb for a week!  Even my four year old ate some and he's very picky.  Great as a side dish for dinner, they also work as a low carb side to breakfast.  Try them alongside these favorites:  Cream Cheese Pancakes, Spinach, Goat Cheese & Chorizo Omelette,  or Eggs in a Cloud. 

Makes: at least 50 ???

Recipe Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower

2 Tbl heavy cream

2 Tbl butter

1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar

4 egg whites

salt & pepper to taste

oil for frying

Clean and trim cauliflower adding florets to a microwave safe bowl.  Add the cream and butter to the bowl.  Microwave for 5 minutes.  Add the cauliflower and cheese to a magic bullet or food processor  and blend until still chunky - kind of like a cooked oatmeal consistency.  Season with salt and pepper.  Chill for at least half an hour.  Whip the egg whites to a stiff peak.  Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the cauliflower mixture to lighten it up.  Then fold the cauliflower mixture into the rest of the egg whites and gently mix until combined.  For best results, chill for another half hour or they won't hold their shape as well.  Fit a pastry bag with a round or star tube with about a 3/4 inch opening.  Spray the inside of the bag with nonstick spray.  Gently squeeze out 1 inch sections onto a greased cookie sheet, cutting with a butter knife as you go.  When finished, bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes (or longer if you're skipping the frying) until puffed and slightly browned.  Remove from the oven and serve - or heat 1/4 inch of oil in a saute pan and when it's very hot add the tots.  It doesn't need long, a minute per side to turn them golden brown and crispy.  Serve immediately.  These are still tasty after they cool but they start to lose their crunch only minutes after they come out of the oil so if crunch is what you're after, eat them right away!  So good!  Can't wait to hear what you thought of them!

Regarding nutrition info on these, I will give you the info per batch of tot mix but depending on how large you make them, etc, I have no idea what the breakdown would be per tot.  Also, I don't know how many calories would be added by frying them after baking since it's hard to quantify how much oil would be absorbed.  To lower the calories, use half and half instead of heavy cream, and substitute a lowfat cheddar.  

Approximate nutrition info per batch:  864 calories, 63g fat, 18g net carbs, 47g protein