Broccoli bites are a popular snack made by mixing cooked broccoli, cheese, and egg, rolling them into small balls, coating them in breadcrumbs, and frying until crispy. Variations include adding bacon, onions, and baking instead of frying. They are often served with honey mustard sauce.
Broccoli bites are a type of snack or appetizer that are created by creating a thick batter or mixture of broccoli, egg, and cheese; coat small-sized balls of the mixture in bread crumbs; and fry them in oil until crispy. Some variations of the basic broccoli bites recipe use slightly different ingredients, such as cooked bacon, diced onions, mustard greens, and parsley, and bake the bites instead of frying them. The recipe has become popular as a menu item in several restaurants, where it was traditionally served with a honey mustard sauce. Homemade convenience recipes for broccoli bites use premade stuffing mixes and powdered soup mixes to get the bites to taste and texture in a more timely manner.
The first step in preparing broccoli bites is to clean and cook the broccoli. In general, only the florets or tops of broccoli are used because they are meant to break down into smaller pieces. The florets are first cooked completely in boiling water, a steamer or a microwave oven. They are then cut into small pieces so that each of the broccoli bites will contain several very small pieces when formed.
The cooked and chopped broccoli is then added to a bowl along with some cheese. The classic recipe calls for grinding Monterey Jack and Colby cheeses. Some recipes also use shredded Parmesan, shredded cheddar, room-temperature cream cheese, or mozzarella cubes. The cheese and broccoli are combined with a small amount of flour, some eggs and any spices that are added. The finished mixture is then placed in a refrigerator and allowed to sit until cohesive balls can form.
Once set, the broccoli and cheese mixture forms into balls which are then rolled in breadcrumbs. Alternatively, breadcrumbs and a little milk can be added to the broccoli bite mixture and allowed to bubble up to help make a firmer, easier-to-handle batter. Each of the breaded bites is placed in a pot of hot oil and pan-fried until the outside is crispy and golden brown.
To avoid frying, some recipes shape the broccoli mixture into small patties that are placed on a baking sheet. In most recipes where the broccoli bites are baked rather than fried, the bites aren’t coated in breadcrumbs. Whichever cooking method you use, the finished broccoli bites are meant to be served hot with a simple honey mustard sauce.
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