Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower Bites

I am currently home in Halifax for a few months to wait out the winter, so I’ve been enjoying cooking for my parents again. I live alone in Toronto and knew that the winter would be tough in the pandemic without … human contact. While I am home my mom and I are trying to eat more plant-based meals coming off the holidays, which involved a lot of meat and pastries, and pastry wrapped meat. These cauliflower bites are the perfect veggie appetizer, snack or main (paired with a big salad).

Cauliflower has become really trendy in the last few years but I’m kind of ok with it. I find it super filling, and these bites are no exception. It’s also a blank canvas that can take on pretty much any flavour. I also love how cauliflower can become so creamy when cooked through, and these bites pair that creamy texture with a crispy, slightly chewy exterior. 

I am borderline obsessed with these cauliflower bites. I love that they are made in one bowl, and the texture they get without oil or frying makes me very happy. I hate when you have to set up an intense dredging station to get something breaded (one bowl for egg, one bowl for flour, one bowl for crust). It’s worth the effort but sometimes you just don’t want to put in the effort, ya know?

The key to these cauliflower bites is the biscuit-like batter, that when cooked for a super long time gets crispy and holds up against the sauce. The batter completely coats the cauliflower, seeping into all the little crevices, making an almost fritter meets cauliflower bite… bite. 

There are a lot of different directions you could take these bites - Franks Red Hot Sauce paired with ranch to go traditional buffalo style; I am also going to try them out with some spices added to the batter (like chili powder and cumin) to use for cauliflower tacos. But today’s recipe is inspired by flavours of the Vietnamese sauce nuoc cham. Typically nuoc cham includes water so this is a bit more concentrated. I also added in melted butter to allow the sauce to emulsify, helping it coat the cauliflower more evenly and added a bit of richness. The sauce is tangy, sweet and spicy. Topping with fresh herbs or sliced green onion adds some freshness to finish them off.

A few tips:

• Spread out the cauliflower on the cookie sheet to ensure it gets nice and crispy. If you overcrowd the pan, the bites will steam - you need enough space to let the air circulate

• 45 minutes feels like a long time in the high heat but don’t take them out sooner! You want them to deeply cook. They may have some brown bits and that’s ok! That’s just extra flavour.

To serve:

• Best served fresh out of the oven and tossed in the sauce.

• They will keep ok in the fridge, but they may lose some of their crunch the next day but will still be very flavourful. If you can reheat in a toaster oven or the oven vs. the microwave, that will preserve some of the texture.

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Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower Bites

Serves 4-6 appetizer style

15-minute prep, 45-minute cook time

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, leaves and stem removed, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup panko

1 egg

1/2 tsp kosher salt

½ cup water or milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp fish sauce (my favourite brand is Red Boat)

1 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce/chilli sauce like sambal oelek)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Juice of 1 lime (roughly 2 tbsp)

Optional toppings: fresh herbs (basil, mint) or green onions

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Prepare a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or line with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the batter ingredients until smooth - should look like a drippy/loose biscuit batter.

3. Add in your chopped cauliflower and toss to coat. Ensure you toss well - you want every little crevice of the cauliflower to be coated.

4. Place the coated cauliflower onto the prepared cookie sheet one at a time, in one layer, with plenty of space between each piece.

5. Bake for 45 minutes, until they get really dark and crispy. You can flip them over partway through to ensure both sides crisp up.

6. Meanwhile, prep the sauce. In a microwave-safe bowl add the honey and butter. Melt in the microwave. Add in the fish sauce, hot sauce and lime juice, whisking until well emulsified. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper!

7. When the cauliflower is done take it out of the oven and put them in a large heat-safe bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss the cauliflower until they are evenly coated.

8. Serve on a platter topped with any soft fresh herbs you have on hand (ex. Basil, mint) and sliced green onion.

Leek & Cauliflower Puree

This is one of my favourite side dishes over the holidays because it carries all the flavour of a luxurious potato side dish without feeling as heavy. I started developing this a few Christmases ago as my aunt cannot eat potatoes. Since so many holiday meals are served with potatoes on the side, I wanted her to have an option that was equally tasty without defaulting to rice. The flavour here really comes from leeks - you want them to get nice and soft and buttery. It’s ok if they brown a bit too, that’s just extra flavour! If you don’t have a food processor you could use a blender or hand blender. The other advantage to cauliflower over potato is you don’t have to worry about it turning gummy when blended!

About the ingredients

Leeks: as you will begin to notice in my recipes, leeks are one of my favourite ingredients. They add a gentle onion flavour without too much bite, and I find they pair nicely with cheese without overtaking the dish. 

How to store leeks:

Leeks should be stored in the fridge but they can be REALLY big. Since you only eat the white part of the leek, if you’re tight on space, you can always trim off the green parts before storing them in your fridge. Just dampen a paper towel and wrap the cut ends until you are ready to use.

How to clean leeks:

I always give them a good rinse on the outside - if the outer layer seems to be discolouring, I will peel that off. Again, you only use the white part, so I cut off the greens. I’ll then peek down in the layers of the white part - if it seems really dirty I will chop the leeks to whichever size I need, then give them a rinse in a colander or soak in a bowl of water to remove all the dirt. Sometimes soil can get between the layers so it’s important to give them a good clean!

What do I do with all these leeks?!:

Typically leeks come in bunches of three. This recipe will use one. For the other two, you can pretty much use them in any recipe that calls for onion. They are awesome in soups. I use them in my turkey dressing/stuffing. I have a great leek and camembert quiche recipe in the archives. They are delicious with a roast chicken - add them to the pan and the chicken fat drippings will caramelize the leeks while it roasts. THE WORLD IS YOUR LEEK.

Choosing your milk: the higher the milk fat content of your milk, the richer this side dish will be. If you are looking for a lighter side, choose 1 or 2% milk. If you’re looking for a luxurious, creamy side, go all out with 35% m.f cream. Anything in between will also be delicious! I have not tried this recipe with non-dairy milk but I think any unsweetened nut or oat milk would probably work nicely.

Cheese: in the recipe, I recommend using parmesan cheese but really, any hard, sharp cheese will work well. Asiago would be delicious. So would Grana Padano. It isn’t meant to be like… “cheesy” in flavour, just super savoury and delicious. Save your cheddar for another recipe!

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Leek & Cauliflower Puree

Serves 4-6, 30 mins prep/cook time

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower head, leaves and stalks removed

1 leek, green part removed

1 tsp, olive oil

1 tbsp butter

½ cup of milk or cream (higher the milk fat the creamier it will be)

¼ cup grated parmesan

Salt n pepper to taste

Method:

1. Prep your cauliflower - you can either boil or steam the cauliflower, your choice! First I chop the cauliflower into roughly equal pieces so it cooks evenly. Then while the cauliflower cooks, skip to step 2 to get your leeks cooking at the same time.

   • To boil: bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in cauliflower and boil until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and place in the food processor.

   • To steam: place your steaming basket in a medium pot with 1 cm of water. Add cauliflower pieces to the steamer basket and cover with a lid. Allow to steam for 5-7 mins until fork tender. Remove cauliflower and place it in the food processor.

2. Thinly slice your leek, first by running the knife lengthwise down the white part, and then slicing crosswise. Add to a pan over medium-low heat with olive oil and butter, and a pinch of salt. Allow to cook until translucent, buttery and softened. I like to let them deeply cook, 10-15 minutes.

3. Once leeks are cooked, add to the food processor along with your milk/cream and pulse until smooth. Add in your cheese and pulse again until well combined. Taste. Does it taste like you want to eat more? If no, you probably need some more salt and pepper. Add a touch, pulse again, and taste. Continue until it tastes delicious and perfectly seasoned!

4. You can keep the puree warm on the stove in a pot, covered, over low heat while you wait for the rest of your meal. You can also refrigerate for 3-5 days to reheat!