Roasted Sriracha Cauliflower Bites with Peanut Dipping Sauce
BONUS POST!
Here’s a crowd-pleasing, vegetarian appetizer that will solidly hold it’s own against the chicken wings and chili served from Seattle to Boston this Super Bowl Sunday. Don’t hate me for wishing that I was writing “from Green Bay to Indianapolis.”
This recipe, along with all the rest in “Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give A F*ck” by Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis, will have you cooking outside of your comfort zone and exploring new tastes and ingredients. You’ll be laughing out loud just reading the recipe descriptions and directions. I will warn that you may want to keep this cookbook out of your kids’ reach. Ever heard that before? Curious? Check out Thug Kitchen for a sneak peak.
And you may not be surprised to hear that the recipe for Roasted Sriracha Cauliflower Bites with Peanut Dipping Sauce is accompanied by the tagline, “With a snack like this everybody f*cking wins.” Say no more and may best team, with the hardest balls, win! Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.
Roasted Sriracha Cauliflower Bites with Peanut Dipping Sauce
- 1-2 medium heads cauliflower (about 2 lbs)
- 1/2 c flour
- 1/2 c water
- Hot Sauce
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 c Sriracha or similar style hot sauce
- 1/4 c rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- Peanut Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 c warm water
- 1/4 c plus 2 Tbls smooth peanut butter
- 2 Tbls rice vinegar
- 2 Tbls lime juice
- 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1 cucumber, cut into finger-long sticks, optional for serving
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet or line with Silpat mat.
- Chop your cauliflower into florets no bigger than your thumb.
- Whisk together the flour and water until smooth batter forms.
- Toss the cauliflower into the batter until all the pieces are coated.
- Spread cauliflower on baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Mix them around halfway through roasting so that they get lightly browned on all sides.
- In a small saucepan, mix the oil, Sriracha, vinegar and soy sauce. Heat over low heat until the sauce is warm, not bubbling. Turn off heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the water and peanut butter until smooth. Add the other ingredients and continue stirring until everything is incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- After 15 minutes in the oven, dump the cauliflower back into the big bowl and toss it with the hot sauce mixture from the stovetop. Make sure that all pieces are coated.
- Return cauliflower to baking sheet, leaving any extra sauce in the bowl, and roast for another 3 minutes* so that everything is warm and delicious.
- Serve hot or at room temperature with the cucumber sticks and peanut dipping sauce.
- * VERY IMPORTANT: Do not dump the cauliflower onto the baking sheet with all of the sauce--end result will be too wet. Rather, remove the cauliflower from the bowl with a slotted spoon and place on the baking sheet. I also roast the cauliflower coated in hot sauce a bit longer so that it would be slightly drier and easier to eat with fingers. The end result after about 7 minutes was perfect.