M...eat...less
I guess I’m the last one to truly get on the cauliflower train. This is
the first time I have purchased cauliflower since 2015 when I made a gratin and
some fried cauliflower and broccoli bites. I absolutely adore this recipe. It is
one that many meat eaters would approve of, most probably wouldn’t even know
they were eating cauliflower. My mother made a food network version last month
and could not stop talking about how good it was. So, I decided to add it to the
list.
I looked at the recipe she used along with several others, many are the
ways to cook these nuggets. People use batters, cornflakes, oven fry all kinds
of stuff. I decided the easiest thing for me would be to treat it as if it were
chicken, plus I wanted some real crunch, I decided to cook the cauliflower the
same way I cook chicken wings and chicken breast. Season it, cook them, toss
them in sauce and enjoy.
They were seasoned with a smoked salt and cooked in the oven first
until tender. I knew that frying would be really fast and if they were not pre-cooked
they may be a bit too raw on the inside even after frying. I guess it’s a step you could
skip if you wanted a bit more crunch. However I wanted it to be soft on the inside
and crunchy on the outside. The breading even stays crispy after the maple
and bbq sauce covers every nook and cranny.
This recipe is not vegan, but you can make it vegan if you like by using an egg
substitute and almond buttermilk or a soy buttermilk. Almond or soy buttermilk
is nothing more than adding a tip of vinegar to either milk and letting it
stand for a few minutes. The eggs,
buttermilk and cornstarch trio really give you that nook and cranny type of breading
with a great crunch. I believe that the substitutions will give you the same experience.
Right now, I am
excited to purchase some more cauliflower to make even more recipes using it,
maybe something whole roasted next time.
Ingredients (printable ingredient list)
1 head cauliflower
½ teaspoon Salt
Drizzle of oil
For the fry
Enough oil to deep fry
½ cup Flour
½ cup Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Onion powder
1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
½ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon cumin
2 Eggs
1 cup Milk
For the sauce
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup hickory bbq sauce
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
- Wash and clean the cauliflower and break apart into small pieces
- Place on a parchment lined baking stray season with oil and salt toss to completely coat
- Bake/cook in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until fork tender
- Once cooked remove from oven and set aside to cool
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or pot to 400 degrees
- In a zip loc bag combine flour, cornstarch, onion powder, paprika, salt and cumin
- In a bowl whisk together, the eggs and milk
- Place all the cooked and cooled cauliflower into the bag with the flour and shake to coat
- Remove the pieces shaking off excess flour dip into the egg mixture and back into the flour
- Repeat for all the pieces and fry in the hot oil until golden brown (about 5 minutes)
- Once all the pieces are fried add to a bowl and toss with maple syrup bbq sauce and red pepper flakes before serving.
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