Broccoli-mozzarella bites

Broccoli-mozzarella bites are a great vegetarian meal loaded with nutrients. Bright green broccoli, cheese and ground hazelnuts make them a wonderful light snack, brunch or appetizer. They are fun to make and enjoy.

Broccoli might not be your favourite food, however, combined with plenty of cheese it transforms into an appealing snack. I promise this recipe will make you a bit more enthusiastic about broccoli. Wink.

They are a wonderful way how to get more vegetables in your diet. More, with these vegetables, you’ll get a good amount of vitamins, proteins and fibre. Besides that, broccoli contains also calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. A true powerful vegetable. Wink. And, if you like these, you’re also going to love these salmon cakes, these wonderful beetroot lentil patties or these baked beetroot falafels.

By only chopping the broccoli, instead of mixing it in a food processor, you give that lovely texture to the whole thing. Add some cheese, an egg and some breadcrumbs (well I used ground hazelnuts), mix and shape into a form you like. It really doesn’t matter which shape you give these bites. Just make sure to give them a good squeeze, in order to keep that shape. Mine were handmade. Therefore, they were unique. Wink.

Ground hazelnuts are a lovely breadcrumbs substitute. Yes, besides in pastries, cakes, cookies, pancakes and bread, hazelnuts can also be used instead of breadcrumbs. They give a mild nutty flavour and they replicate wonderfully the texture and the consistency from the breadcrumbs. Ground hazelnuts are a great gluten-free alternative, too.

Also, these broccoli-mozzarella bites are versatile as well. In fact, you can enjoy them as a snack or as a side dish. They pair with meat or fish and you can even use them as a pasta topping. That’s great!

What’s even more fantastic, these broccoli-mozzarella bites are baked instead of fried. Consequently, they are lighter than the ones fried in oil. Which means you can eat more of them. Yes! Wink.

Ingredients for 14-16 broccoli-mozzarella bites:

• 500-600 g broccoli (florets)
• 1 small red onion (chopped)
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• sea salt
• 200 g grated mozzarella
• 30 g Parmesan cheese
• 60 g ground hazelnuts
• 2-3 Tbsp of cottage cheese
• chili sauce

To begin, wash the broccoli and cut it into florets (keep the stem for a soup or a salad). Put the broccoli florets in a pot or pan, add some water (finger high) and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes.

After the florets are tender but still bright green, remove them from the pan and tap them dry with some paper towels. Peel and finely chop the onion. Chop the broccoli florets as well. Combine chopped onion and broccoli in a large bowl. Then, add the mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, ground hazelnuts and two beaten eggs. Season with some salt and, using your hands or a wooden spoon, mix to combine.

Preheat the oven to 160º C. Furthermore, slightly wet your hands and form the broccoli-mozzarella bites. Lay them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put to bake for 10-15 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Finally, serve your broccoli-mozzarella bites with your favourite dip sauce (I made a simple cottage cheese-chilli dip) or next to some BBQ ribs.

Enjoy.