Fried Cauliflower

Name: Fried Cauliflower
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Cauliflower; Milk; All Purpose Flour; Eggs; Coriander; Paprika; Vegetable oil; Salt

Crisp and crunchy on the outside and tender in the middle: here’s the easy recipe for fried cauliflower.

BYClaudia Concas,

Journalist

23 December, 2020

Dietary Consideration

Vegetarian

serves for

ingredients

Cauliflower

400 g

Milk

80 ml

All Purpose Flour

70 g

Eggs

Coriander

Paprika

Vegetable oil

For frying

Salt

Fried cauliflower florets make a perfect vegetable side dish for accompanying meat or fish. So easy to prepare, fried cauliflower is crisp on the outside and tender in the middle. This recipe for fried cauliflower lends itself perfectly well to a vegan diet but is popular with everyone. Try fried cauliflower when organizing a brunch: give the dish a touch of freshness by adding some chopped coriander leaves or an extra kick of flavour with smoked paprika, or any other spice you happen to fancy. Here is the recipe explained step by step.

Step 01

To prepare fried cauliflower, start by removing all the outer cauliflower leaves. Wash the cauliflower thoroughly and separate the florets using a sharp knife. Drop the cauliflower florets into a wide saucepan containing lightly salted boiling water for 10 minutes. The florets must be cooked but still nice and firm.

Step 02

Now prepare the batter for the fried cauliflower. Sift the flour into a bowl and then add the milk and the egg.

Step 03

Mix the batter with a fork until all the lumps are incorporated. Now, dip the florets into the batter.

Step 04

After dipping the cauliflower florets into the batter, tap them on the edge of the bowl to remove any excess batter before frying them in boiling hot vegetable oil. When crisp and golden, remove the florets with a spider strainer. Place the fried florets on a sheet of absorbent paper for a few seconds, before arranging them on a serving dish garnished with roughly chopped coriander leaves and a sprinkling of paprika.

Useful Tips and Interesting Facts

Traditional white cauliflower is the most widely available, but it is also possible to find green, purple and yellow varieties. There is no difference in terms of flavour, but the visual impact is guaranteed when the cauliflower is plated up.

Cauliflower is a tasty winter veg packed with nutritional properties but, when cooking, they tend to release an unpleasant smell. Our tip is to put a potato or a small glass of white wine vinegar into the water it is boiled in. This little trick will make you appreciate cauliflower even more.

Recipe Twists

For a lighter version of this recipe, you could try cooking the cauliflower in the oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C and roast the cauliflower for 25 minutes, turning the florets over from time to time. Accompany your roast cauliflower florets with a vegan or traditional mayonnaise.