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Crispy Cauliflower With Honey and Hot Pepper Flakes

By Erin French

4.5

(2)

Fried cauliflower with honey drizzled over the top.
Photo by Nicole Franzen

This dish came together on a whim. Five o’ clock was rapidly approaching, and with it, a dining room full of hungry guests. But I had resolved to put a new side dish on that evening’s menu. Well, when under pressure, we can surprise ourselves with what we can accomplish, and what started as a freaked-out throw-together became a delicious discovery. Crunchy, creamy cauliflower drizzled with a bit of honey and finished with hot pepper flakes is a welcome surprise of flavor—not unlike crispy hot honey chicken.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Big Heart Little Stove' by Erin French. Buy the full book on Amazon. Get more cauliflower recipes→

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 medium head cauliflower, cored and cut into 2-inch florets
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups club soda
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Neutral oil, for deep-frying
2 Tbsp. honey
1½ tsp. chile flakes
Grated zest of 1⁄2 lemon
Maldon salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 450°F.

    Step 2

    In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread the cauliflower out on a baking sheet and roast until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

    Step 3

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the club soda and flour; set aside.

    Step 4

    In a deep fryer or large, deep skillet, bring a few inches of oil to 375°F.

    Step 5

    In a large bowl, lightly toss the roasted cauliflower in flour, then, working in batches, dredge the florets in the batter and fry until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to overcrowd the oil, or the florets will lower the temperature of the oil and become soggy.

    Step 6

    Transfer the hot fried cauliflower to a platter; drizzle with the honey; and sprinkle with the chile flakes, lemon zest, and a few generous pinches of Maldon salt. Eat straightaway and hot!

Big Heart Little Stove-COVER.jpg
From Big Heart Little Stove by Erin French. Copyright (c) 2023 by the author and reprinted with permission of Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. Buy the full book from Amazon or Macmillan.
TagsCookbooksStarterSideVegetarianCauliflowerVegetableDeep FrySnack

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