Have a glass of beer, watch a match of football and eat something sticky and spicy that would make you want more of both… Don’t you miss it sometimes in the wonderful world of quinoa and tofu? So I went on a quest trying to find this particular feeling that sweet and spicy sauce stick to your fingers while you devour a depraved delight. Here’s what I got.
This recipe has three phases. All in the oven. First you bake the florets to soften them, then you harden the coating to make them crispy and to conclude you caramelize the spicy BBQ sauce on them.
Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower, cut to medium-small florets
salt
drizzle of olive oil
Batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon of each: salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon of each: black pepper, chili powder, baking powder
Sauce:
75 ml ketchup
75 ml BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon date/maple syrup
1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ginger powder
optional: dried chili flakes, grated orange peel
Start with the cauliflower. Heat an oven to 200 degrees (C). Drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle some salt, wrap in baking paper and bake for 10-15 minutes, just to make the florets slightly softer.
Let them cool and make the batter. Increase the heat in the oven to 250 degrees. Dip each floret in it and cover completely. Let it penetrate into the gaps. Plane on a baking form covered in baking paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the batter is stable.
In the meanwhile, make the sauce. Once the florets are baked and the batter is stable, remove them carefully from the baking form. Place half the sauce in a bowl, the florets on top, and the rest of the sauce on top of them, cover in a plate and shake well, until all the florets are covered in it. Return to the baking form and broil for 5 minutes.
Serve with your favorite dip (Vegan mayo with habanero touch in this case) and enjoy with a cold glass of beer.
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Chef Zahi 