Fried Cauliflower in Batter with Paprika
I remember we often fried cauliflower florets at home, dipping them in batter. It was tasty and didn't take long. In fall and winter this vegetable is sold everywhere, with plenty to choose from. Notably, the florets need only the briefest cooking; they're best cooked so they stay a little crisp.
Frying all kinds of foods in a thin dough, or batter as it's usually called, is an amazing technique. Batter is usually thin enough to coat pieces of food and at the same time thick enough to cling rather than run off during frying. The method calls for deep frying or plenty of fat. A family favorite is zander fried in batter.
An important feature of batter-frying is that you end up with a slightly crispy crust of a very appealing golden color. It looks appetizing and tastes great. By the way, batter is used all over the world, and it's impossible to say for sure where it started. Basically, it's a kind of coating, alongside breadcrumbs, crumbs and so on.
Batter is made from flour, eggs and liquid. It can be sweet, savory, plain, yeasted and so on, so you can always choose the right version for your dish. You can also add various extras: wine, spices, food coloring.
Buy a firm cauliflower with white or slightly creamy florets. A limp or yellowed surface means it isn't fresh or was stored badly. The leaves hugging the florets should be light green and fresh.
Making the batter is the most important step. In fact, it's worth learning to make a good batter; it'll come in handy for more than cauliflower. By changing the extras, you can always adapt the basic recipe to the situation. Cauliflower florets are usually fairly large, so it's worth boiling or steaming them briefly before frying. Ideally, they should still be slightly raw before you dip them in the batter.
Ingredients
4 servings
- Cauliflower 1 kg
- Wheat flour 1 cup
- Eggs 2
- Milk 150 ml
- Vegetable oil for deep frying as needed
- Salt, sweet and hot paprika to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- Battered cauliflower fries quickly. The florets are usually boiled first to the doneness you like, ideally al dente. That way, when frying, you only need to watch the batter. If the head is fresh and unblemished, just break it into florets before or after boiling. Steaming gives good results too.
- Get all the batter ingredients ready. Separate the eggs into yolks and whites in separate cups. Add a pinch of salt to the whites and beat them with a mixer to stiff peaks; keep them in the fridge until needed. Use the yolks, flour and milk for the batter itself.
- Break the cauliflower into florets; if they're large, cut them in half. Put the cauliflower in a pot and cover with cold water. Add 0.5 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes from when it boils. Alternatively, boil the whole head and then break it into florets. Or steam the cauliflower instead of boiling it.
- Then drain the water and put the cauliflower on a plate to cool and dry a little. The florets shouldn't be too wet. For the batter to coat the cauliflower well and stay on, dust the boiled florets with flour. If you skip this, the battered cauliflower will have no crust and will be like ordinary pan-fried cauliflower. A small tea strainer makes this easy: just put 1 tbsp flour in it and shake it over the cauliflower.
- Meanwhile, make the batter. In a mixer bowl, combine the flour, spices and two egg yolks. I suggest adding sweet and hot paprika to taste; it improves the color of the batter and gives it a spicy kick. You can add 0.5 tsp salt, since cauliflower has an almost neutral taste. Mix the dry ingredients with a fork or mixer.
- While mixing, pour in the milk in small portions. The batter will be fairly thick but pourable. Don't thin it further. Next, take the beaten whites out of the fridge and add them to the batter. Mix gently with the mixer; don't overdo it. The finished batter should be as thick as good thick sour cream or thick honey: drops should slowly run off a tilted spoon.
- Setting up for deep frying is easy. If you don't have a deep fryer, use a small saucepan with a handle. Don't use a very wide pot, or you'll need a lot of oil. Pour refined oil into the pot, preferably sunflower. You need enough to completely cover the florets. Heat the oil until it just starts to bubble, then turn the heat down to medium. In a small pot you can fry 3-5 florets at a time. Dip a prepared floret in the batter so it's completely coated, with no gaps. Wait a moment to let the excess batter drip off. It's handy to spear the florets on a skewer: that makes it easy to dip them in the batter and take them out.
- Carefully lower the cauliflower into the hot oil. Important: the oil is very hot. Never let even a drop of water get into it; it will spatter and burn you. Be extremely careful. Add as many florets as will fit, but so the battered cauliflower pieces don't touch each other.
- Batter fries very quickly in hot oil. You can drop a little batter into the oil first and time how long it takes to turn golden. Each batch of mine took 2-2.5 minutes. An ordinary metal spoon works well for turning the cauliflower in the oil and lifting it out. As soon as the battered cauliflower turns a nice deep golden color, take it out.
- Have a large flat plate ready, lined with 2-3 layers of paper towel. Put the fried cauliflower on the towel to soak up the excess oil. As they cool, the pieces will turn noticeably dry and golden. Let the battered cauliflower cool completely. I prefer to eat it at room temperature or slightly warm. Don't dig in right away, or you could burn your lips and tongue.
- Arrange the battered cauliflower on a plate. It's usually served as a cold or warm appetizer. I suggest adding a small bowl of mildly spicy sauce to the plate. The dish goes especially well with the sweet chili sauces typical of Southeast Asia.
Serves: 4 servings Calories: 100 Prep: 10 mins Cook: 20 mins Total: 30 mins Category: Main Dishes Cuisine: European Rating: