My friend, Ali, has come up with a healthier way to enjoy the flavor of everything bagels, without the refined flour and gluten found in the traditional variety. In her new cookbook, Inspiralized, Ali shares a variety of creative ways to use a spiralizer to add more veggies into your diet. In addition to these “bagel buns,” her cookbook also shares innovative recipes like Blueberry Sweet Potato Waffles, Spicy Shrimp Lettuce Wraps with Coconut-Lime Jicama Rice, Vegetarian Carrot Enchilada Bake, Fennel Sausage and Butternut Squash Casserole, and Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Muffins.
If you’re not familiar with a spiralizer, it’s a handy kitchen tool that easily turns vegetables into “noodles.” Replacing the traditional pasta in your favorite dish with vegetable pasta is an easy swap you can make to increase your vegetable intake, without giving up the flavors you love. (Most of the flavor is in the sauce and toppings, anyway!) But you don’t have to stop at just pasta. As you can see from the recipe below, you can do all sorts of things with spiraled vegetables! Thanks to Ali for allowing me to share a recipe from her cookbook. I hope you all enjoy it! — “Everything Bagel” Buns Makes 4 buns Ingredients: For the bagel mix: 1 teaspoon poppy seeds 1 teaspoon sesame seeds 1 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper For the buns: Cooking spray or 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 large Idaho potato, peeled, spiralized with Blade C (to make spaghetti-like noodles)* Salt & pepper 1 large egg and 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1 tablespoons olive oil *I used a large parsnip, instead of a potato, which also worked great! Directions:
Make the bagel mix. Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Make the buns. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray, or olive oil. (I used a teaspoon of olive oil, instead of cooking spray.) When water flicked onto the skillet sizzles, add the potato noodles and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, tossing occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown. (When using a parsnip, I had to sauté the noodles for closer to 15-20 minutes to get them tender.) Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool for 2 minutes.
Stir in the eggs and bagel mix. Toss until the potato noodles are evenly coated. Fill four 6-ounce ramekins halfway with the potato noodles. Cover each with a piece of wax paper, pressing it firmly down onto the potato noodles to compress them. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to set.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the buns two at a time, flipping each out of its ramekin into the skillet and patting the bottom until the bun falls out. Cook for 3 minutes or until set, being sure to push in any stray noodles. Carefully flip and cook another 2 to 3 minutes or until the buns are completely set and browned on both sides. Repeat with the other ramekins, adding the remaining tablespoon of oil as needed.
Serve the bagel buns with the spreads and toppings of your choice. Re-printed with permission from Inspiralized: Turn Vegetables into Healthy, Creative, Satisfying Meals, by Ali Maffucci. Notes: As I mentioned above, I made this recipe using parsnips, instead of potato, because that’s what I had on hand. The resulting “bagels” were delicious, and I have a feeling you could use this method with a variety of other vegetables, too. As always, please leave a comment below if you have success making a substitution, so that we can all benefit from your experience. Enjoy! — Reader Feedback: Do you own a spiralizer? If so, what’s your favorite way to use it? Disclosure: Ali sent me a complimentary copy of her cookbook, but I am under no obligation to post a positive review. I asked her if I could share this recipe with you guys, and I appreciate her letting me do so!
