Cauliflower “Wings”

When I chatted with MasterChef Canada judge Michael Bonacini and Chopped Canada’s Massimo Capra on Friday, I asked, “What is the one piece advice you have for at home cooks?” (For the record, this was part of my job as a reporter. I don’t randomly chat with classically-trained chefs. You can read my full interview in the Red Deer Advocate.)

Michael said a recipe is simply a guideline and the rest is up to you (or something along those lines). They both said to experiment and to have fun with cooking. Make mistakes. Learn from your mishaps. Try again and again.

 

So with that in mind, I decided to make a new dish this weekend. There’s been some buzz about cauliflower “wings” especially in light of last weekend’s Super Bowl. Everyone knows that the appies (and beer) are a big part of watching the game. I came across many “cauliflower wing” recipes last week. I took the basics and came up with my own version.

 
 

Spicy Cauliflower Wings 
 
Ingredients: 
One head of cauliflower
Frank’s Hot Sauce 1 cup*
Chickpea Flour 1 cup
Olive Oil 1 tablespoon
Garlic 2 tablespoons

Cashew Milk 1/2 cup

Instructions:

1. Wash cauliflower. Cut or break off into little florets
2.  Set aside the hot sauce and oil
3. Mix the cashew milk, flour and garlic in bowl
4. Add the cauliflower to the mixing bowl & mix well
5. Spread the cauliflower on a cookie tray.
6.  Heat oven to 450 degrees. Pop the cauliflower tray in the oven for 18-20 minutes
7.  Mix the hot sauce and oil together while the cauliflower is baking
8.  Mix the cooked cauliflower in the hot sauce/oil concoction.
9. Pop tray back into oven and cook for another 10 minutes

10. Take out of oven and let cool for a couple minutes. Enjoy!

 
How did they taste? Well … in my opinion .. they were awesome! They were a little mushy. I am not sure if I had cooked them longer that they would have been crispy. I will have to play with the cooking times. Cauliflower works so well because it just soaks up the flavours. I find cauliflower a boring vegetable but I know it’s packed with nutrients. I should make an effort to find more cauliflower recipes. Got any?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If you like Frank’s Hot Sauce, you would love these “wings.” I used a cup in my recipe then I added a few more squirts from the bottle. The hotter, the better in my opinion. I refused to look at the salt content. I don’t want to know! Let’s go with cauliflower wings are a healthy alternative to real wings.
 
 
 

The “wings” looked really gooey on the tray. I was worried that I used the wrong type of flour. I don’t use regular flour so I just used whatever I had on hand in my cupboard. In this case, I had the choice between chickpea and coconut flour. I was tempted to try the coconut but I don’t think the flavors would have meshed well together.

I will make these again. Next time I will experiment with flavours using different spices and perhaps another sauce like sweet and sour. Yum!

7 Comments

  1. I always toss my steamed cauliflower with a little bit of cheese whiz (gross, I know!) and a splash of Franks Buffalo sauce. mmmmm. I bet these are great!

  2. Oh I will be picking up some cauliflower later today and trying this, looks amazing. Can you use coconut milk to replace the cashew milk? Where do you buy cashew milk OR can it be made using a Vitamix?

  3. I think plain water would do the trick. I don't usually buy cashew milk. I grabbed it by mistake. I think coconut milk or almond milk would work fine.

  4. I absolutely despise cauliflower so I won't be adding this one to my recipe list. But I do think it's super awesome you got to interview those chefs!

    1. Too funny that you wrote about eggs (which I hate) and I wrote about cauliflower (which you hate) today.

  5. I saw these on several blogs after the super bowl so I think I'm going to have to give them a try. I found this awesome link on Facebook a few weeks ago listing all the things you can make with cauliflower, it was pretty interesting.

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