Deceptively Delicious Mozzarella sticks

For lunch today, I decided to make these. I was so excited when I found this recipe out of my Deceptively Delicious cookbook. Aside from pasta, the next thing my daughter loves to eat is cheese. String cheese, cheese snacks, cheese slices, grilled cheese sandwich without the bread, quesadillas without the tortillas..........you get the point. My dad gave her some frozen mozzarella sticks last week and she seemed to like it. So I thought to give these to her with a healthier twist.

It was pretty tricky to fry the sticks. They ended up melting all over the pan. I think the trick to cooking these is to deep-fry them over super high heat, which is what I did at the end. Aside from that, they came out quite good. My daughter was able to eat a few. They came out pretty gooey, so she pretty much just played with them in the ketchup that I served it with. I'll try to perfect these a little better for the next time.

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal (optional)

1 tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

1/2 cup cauliflower puree

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1) In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal and sesame seeds. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, stir together mozzarella, cauliflower puree and cornstarch until well combined. Shape into logs. Gently roll each log in breadcrumb mixture. Wrap in foil or waxed paper and freeze for 20 minutes.

3) Heat oil in high heat. Arrange mozzarella sticks in pan in a single layer, being careful not crowd them. Cook until crumb coating begins to warm. Place on paper towels to drain oil and sprinkle with salt.