Broccoli Ranch Tots with Pink Ranch Dip
That's a lotta ranch.
We’ve been busy bees in the kitchen. “We” meaning Torri Anders and myself. She comes to town and helps me buckle down to write new recipes so that I have a never ending supply of recipes for this newsletter as well as future cookbooks. I could not do this process without her assistance. No human is an island, and there’s no way I could get over 600 recipes out of my head an onto the page and into a book without a tremendous amount of help. So thank you, Torri! We love your chicken legs.
Today, we invented a new way of doing ranch dip, called Pink Ranch Dip. It’s the same idea behind ranch, but it adds tomato paste and lemon juice for zest and zing. Think if ranch dip and thousand island had a baby. A really yummy baby.
The tots recipe is a variation on the Cauliflower Tots recipe in the first Eat Happy. You will be glad you made this, especially if you make it with the Pink Ranch Dip. Yes, this is a lot of Ranch. But this is such a good summer taste sensation that will go with any grilled meats, plus you need to know how to make Pink Ranch Dip immediately.
As always, I use The Dill Ranch Seasoning from Eat Happy Kitchen, but you can use any ranch seasoning you want, or make the spice mix from the scratch recipe in Eat Happy Too.
I made these tots in both the air fryer and in the oven, so I gave directions for both. Make them and enjoy!
As always, here’s the downloadable, printable PDF version of this recipe.
BROCCOLI RANCH TOTS WITH PINK RANCH DIP
BROCCOLI RANCH TOTS
(Yields 24-26 tots)
1 (12-14 ounce) bag pre-grated cauliflower “rice,” or 1 head of cauliflower, grated on a box grater
1 crown broccoli
2 tablespoons minced sweet onion
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup grated mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese, minced
3 teaspoons The Dill Ranch Seasoning
1 egg
Pink Ranch Dip (see recipe below)
Trim and discard the corner of the bag of pre-grated cauliflower “rice” and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, until cauliflower is cooked through, hot, and steaming. Carefully pour out of the bag onto clean kitchen towel, then roll up and press the excess water out of the cauliflower. Meanwhile, steam the broccoli florets for 8 minutes (or also microwave for 4 minutes), let cool (or plunge into an ice bath to quick-cool), and then mince the broccoli flowers, about two cups, pressing broccoli dry as well.
Pour the cooled, pressed cauliflower and minced broccoli into a large mixing bowl. Add the minced sweet onion, cheese, Dill Ranch Seasoning, and egg and fold together to mix well.
Air Fryer Instructions:
Preheat air fryer. Form mixture into tots, then place the tots in the air fryer, evenly spaced. Cook at 400 for 12 minutes. Remove the tots from the air fryer and serve with Pink Ranch Dip.
Oven instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Form mixture into tots and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, then gently flip the tots, and continue baking for 15 more minutes until the tots are crispy and golden brown. Serve immediately with Pink Ranch Dip.
PINK RANCH DIP
(Yields 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup full fat sour cream or crème fraîche
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons The Dill Ranch Seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Whisk all ingredients together into a dip.
These look amazing!!