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Destination Dining: Balaboosta’s Everyday Cauliflower
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Give your cauliflower a Balaboosta makeover.
As part of the first S.Pellegrino Destination Dining series - a cross-coast dish swap between the two states of New York and Los Angeles - here’s the recipe from Balaboosta, NYC, for chef Einat Admony’s Balaboosta’s Everyday Cauliflower - Crispy Cauliflower, Bamba, Peanut Tahini.
This really easy recipe, which appears in chef Admony’s latest book, transforms your cauliflower into a delicious treat that the whole family will be fighting over for seconds, and adds Bamba for an unexpected twist.
19 October, 2020
ingredients
Cauliflower head
1 x cut into 1 inch florets
Rice Flour
2 Cups
Bamba
1 x 5.6 oz bag
Canola oil
For frying
Peanut Tahini, makes one cup
Lemon zest
1 x tsp
Lemon juice
4 x tblsp
Salt
1 tsp
Garlic
1 x microplaned
Tahini
1/2 cup (raw)
Unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup
Parsley
3 x tblsp
Preparation
In my restaurants I use a deep-fryer, but you can easily do this in a large pot or cast iron skillet if you have it. This is how I fry everything at home.
For this recipe I used an 8-inch pot and filled it about 2 inches high with canola oil. You can use whatever size pot you want just make sure you add enough oil, so that when you add the cauliflower it is fully covered.
Step 01
To make the tahini
In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup cold water, lemon zest and juice, salt, and garlic. Whisk in the tahini until there are no clumps. Remove, whisk and stir in the parsley and chopped peanuts. Taste and adjust with salt as desired.
Step 02
To make the cauliflower
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together rice flour and 1 cup of water to make the batter. Set aside for later.
Step 03
If you have a thermometer, bring the oil to 350-375 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can turn the pot on medium-high and give it a few minutes to get hot. I like to add a small drop of the batter to test if the oil is hot enough. If you see lots of small rapid bubbles then you are ready to go.
Add the cauliflower to the bowl of batter and coat evenly. Using a slotted spoon, remove cauliflower from the batter and add to the hot oil in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. Fry each batch for about 2-4 minutes until golden brown. I like to give the cauliflower a quick stir right when I drop them in the pot to make sure they don’t stick together. Remove cauliflower to a plate lined with paper towel.
Step 04
To serve
In a large mixing bowl, toss together the hot cauliflower with ½ cup of peanut tahini and broken pieces of bamba. Taste and add more tahini and salt as desired.
