Crumbed cauliflower with easy tartare sauce

Look, if you don’t know by now that I’m quite partial to food encased in crumbs, then it’s like you don’t even know me at all. I’m a complete and utter texture slut. Give me crunch, and I’m yours. I do also like the smooth, silky and velvety textures certain foods offer but if I had a choice, I would eat crisp, crunchy foods day in and day out. I suppose that’s why you can find me, on my couch, at night, munching away on popcorn. That’s also the reason why it’s very hard for me to say no to crisp French fries or crunchy potato chips. I just gotta have the crunch.

So when I was thinking about all the lovely things you can do with cauliflower a while ago, the idea for a cauliflower fritter of sorts came up. I didn’t want to make a traditional fritter so I decided to crumb the florets instead. It works for mushrooms, why won’t it work for cauliflower? I was afraid though that by the time the crumbs were crisp and golden brown, the cauliflower would still be uncooked but it seems that it cooks just perfectly in that time. I served the crumbed cauliflower with a zesty mustard-mayo which I folded chopped capers and gherkins into, to create a really easy mock-tartare sauce. The intense saltiness of the capers and gherkins along with the creamy mayo worked perfectly with the crunchy, almost-sweet cauliflower. Such a great snack and one that will be perfect served with drinks.

5 from 3 votes

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Crumbed cauliflower with tartare sauce

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Course: Appetizer, hors d'oevres, Vegetarian

Servings: 4 -6 as a snack

Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

for the crumbed cauliflower

• 3 cups 1 large head cauliflower florets
• 1 cup flour seasoned with salt & pepper
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2-3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil for frying

for the Tartare sauce

• 3/4 cup good quality mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons capers chopped
• 2 large gherkins finely chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

1. Heat a large pot of oil, for frying the crumbed cauliflower.
2. To prepare the cauliflower, place the seasoned flour, beaten eggs and fresh breadcrumbs in three separate bowls.
3. Coat the cauliflower first in the seasoned flour, then in the egg and finally in the fresh breadcrumbs.
4. Carefully place the crumbed cauliflower (in batches) in the hot oil and allow to fry for 5-7 minutes until golden brown and cooked to your preference.
5. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on some kitchen paper. Continue until all the cauliflower is cooked.
6. To make the tartare sauce, simply mix together all the ingredients then serve with the crumbed cauliflower.