Cauliflower Asparagus Semolina Cakes

Fresh colors and fresh flavors. Cauliflower and Asparagus. These 2 seem to be getting along quite nicely, flavor and color wise. I wanted to include only cauliflower but I was missing the spark, nice green spark, and a little crunch. Since I had just returned from a little vegetable shopping spree and I had bought asparagus, I quickly cut it up, I threw in some garlic and drizzled over some olive oil. Voila, there you have it, fireworks!

Asparagus doesn’t really need much flavoring, I like it with garlic and butter or lemon herb marinade.

These little cakes are super scrumptious. Try them, you’ll love them. I also added some brown rice and quick of for fiber.

Cauliflower Asparagus Semolina Cake (9cakes)
1/2 of one medium size cauliflower head (about 3 cups roughly chopped cauliflower florets)
3 scallions, sliced, white and green part
1/2cup cup brown rice
1cup water
2 1/2tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/4cup +3tbl Semolina Flour
2tbl chopped parsley
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1egg
10 asparagus stalks, sliced
1 garlic clove, diced
3egg whites
1tbl water
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 quick oats(optional)
salt, pepper to taste
additional olive oil

In a small pan stir together brown rice and water, add 1/8 tsp salt. Bring to boil, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until tender. Remove the lid and set aside.
Heat 1 tsp olive oil in the skillet, add sliced scallions, sautee for couple of minutes, then add all the cauliflower, season with pinch of black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt, stir. Cover on medium heat, stirring occasionally, cook until tender.
Once cauliflower is tender, spoon the cauliflower into another dish and set aside.
Add 1/2tsp olive oil into skillet(use the same one you used for cauliflower), add sliced asparagus, season with pepper and pinch of salt, add diced garlic, cook for one minute on medium high, stirring. Remove from heat, set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, bring milk, water, 1tsp olive oil, 1/4tsp salt to boil.Watch it, it can boil over. Remove from heat, add semolina and stir, whisking until smooth, return to heat, and cook until thick, 5-7 minutes,stirring constantly . Remove from the heat, stir in chopped parsley, parmesan cheese and rice. Taste, season with pepper and salt if desired. Set aside to cool slighlty, for about 10 minutes.
Into the semolina mixture stir in 1 whole egg, then add asparagus and cauliflower, stir well.
Spoon the mixture into a square baking pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper. Mixture is thick, you want the layer to be about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick. If it doesn’t fill the whole baking dish, it is okay. Cover pan with plastic wrap, refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Cut the chilled cake into squares.
Whisk together 3 egg whites and 1 tbl of water, until foamy.
In a shallow dish stir together bread crumbs and quick oats, season bread crumbs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Using a spatula lift up the cakes from the baking pan, and dip them in the egg white, you may want to use your hands to dip the cake fully and turn them so they are fully coated with egg white, let he excess drip a little bit and then coat them into the bread crumbs mixture. Transfer to a clean plate. Repeat.
In a large skillet heat olive oil, about 3 tbl. Once hot, lower temperature to medium. Carefully add cakes and cook for about 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Use a Silicone Spatula
and a a Silicone Turner
to flip them over.
If needed add additional oil between batches.
Once cooked transfer cakes onto a baking sheet lined with paper towel.
Serve hot or lukewarm.
Can be made ahead and reheated in the oven, at 350 F for 10 minutes.