After living, breathing, eating and thinking cauliflower for a couple of weeks straight, I’ve emerged from the haze with two new recipes up my sleeve, and just in time for The Nine Days—a period of mourning during which we refrain from eating meat and chicken (aside from Shabbat).


I’m sharing this recipe today, and the other one—a lemon and thyme crumbed cauliflower—I’ll keep for a later date. I’m serious about the cauliflower haze, by the way. It was major. So, months from now, when the snow is piling up in the dead of winter, I’ll feel quite smug pulling out my lemony cauliflower recipe and pictures, done and dusted months earlier. I’m excited already! And it’ll be a bonus for the Southern Hemisphere folks who will actually be enjoying summer then. (For some reason, lemon = summer.)


These can be baked or fried. I was very much enjoying them in baked form, but then I fried a batch to test it out and let’s face it—fried is almost always better. But baked is still good. I’ve left instructions for both methods below, so it’s up to you.


Ingredients:

  • 1 large head cauliflower
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup cornflake crumbs
  • ½ cup matzah meal
  • ½ cup toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. mustard powder
  • Optional: sweet chili sauce for dipping

Directions:

  1. Cut the cauliflower into bite-size florets. Wash and check for bugs.
  2. Beat the eggs together in a bowl.
  3. Mix the cornflake crumbs, matzah meal, sesame seeds, salt, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and mustard powder together in a separate bowl.
  4. Dip each piece of cauliflower into the egg mixture, and then into the crumb mixture.
  5. To Bake: Place the coated florets on a greased baking sheet and drizzle with a small amount of oil (or spray with cooking oil spray). Bake on 400°F (200°C) for 25 minutes.
  6. To Fry: Heat 2-3 inches of vegetable or canola oil in a pot. Drop in 6-8 florets and cook until golden and crispy. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Continue frying in batches until all the florets are fried.
  7. Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice. I like these with sweet chili sauce.