Deez Ain’t Gator Bites

4.60 (12)
⏱ 70 mins 🍽 Serves 4 🏷 Vegan

This vegan recipe creates Louisiana-inspired 'gator bites' from a savoury wheat gluten and mushroom mixture. The nuggets and sliced cremini mushrooms are coated in a seasoned batter, fried until crisp, and served with a creamy, spicy swamp sauce. The dish requires preparing a flavourful spice blend and a homemade vegan mayo base to complete the meal. It yields four servings and takes about 70 minutes to prepare and cook.

Deez Ain’t Gator Bites

Ingredients

  • Nuggets
  • 240ml canola oil
  • 52g chopped yellow onions
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • 110g tomato paste
  • 4g chopped fresh coriander leaves
  • 4g chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon chopped habanero peppers
  • 130g vital wheat gluten flour
  • Swamp Sauce
  • Mayo Base, recipe follows
  • 4g chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2 medium jalapeño, chopped
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Frying
  • Canola oil, for frying
  • 240g all-purpose flour
  • 32g plus 2 teaspoons Love Spice, recipe follows
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 85g cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • Chopped fresh parsley, for serving
  • Love Spice
  • 32g paprika
  • 32g black pepper
  • 32g salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Mayo Base
  • 240ml unsweetened soy milk
  • 120ml olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Method

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper.
  2. To make the nugget mixture, place canola oil, onions, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into a large stock pot. Cook this over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Stir in the garlic and let it cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Add tomato paste, cilantro, parsley and habaneros to the pot. Let this stew for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Move the mixture to a blender and process until smooth.
  4. Put the vital wheat gluten flour into a large bowl. Pour in the blended ingredients and mix thoroughly. Form the mixture into small chunks roughly 1-inch wide and place them on your prepared sheet pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the edges form a light crust.
  5. While the nuggets bake, make the swamp sauce. Combine the Mayo Base, cilantro, garlic powder, mustard, jalapeños, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a blender. Blend the ingredients, then set the finished sauce aside.
  6. For frying, pour about 480ml of canola oil into a 12-inch frying pan. Heat it over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, then lower the heat to medium.
  7. In one bowl, mix 130g of the all-purpose flour with 32g of Love Spice, the hot sauce and 120ml water. In another bowl, combine the remaining 130g flour with the remaining 2 teaspoons of Love Spice.
  8. Coat the baked nuggets and mushroom slices first in the wet batter, then roll them in the dry flour mixture. Carefully add the battered pieces to the hot oil. Fry for about 1 1/2 minutes, turning once, until they are golden brown and crispy.
  9. Transfer the fried nuggets and mushrooms to a plate. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley over the top and serve with the swamp sauce on the side.
  10. To prepare the Love Spice, mix the paprika, black pepper, salt and cayenne together in a bowl until well combined. This yields about 3/4 cup.
  11. For the Mayo Base, blend the soy milk, olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar together until smooth. Refrigerate this mixture overnight. It makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Nutrition (per serving)

Nutrition data not available.

Recipe details

CategoryVegan
AuthorFood Network UK