Cauliflower Wingz
Here it is, sports fans, football season is upon us! You know what that means, fatty, meaty, cheesy snacks while you root for your favorite team or fantasy players. But it's so easy to veganize your favorite football foods. Case in point, chicken wings. Now I am a sucker for anything spicy and definitely missed eating chicken wings, so I developed a new recipe for my fantasy football draft party.
I took my recipe for cauliflower schnitzel and altered it a bit to make crunchy little cauliflower nuggets. I usually shallow fry my cauliflower schnitzel in oil but I have been experimenting with oil-free cooking so I chose to bake it on a silicone baking mat. If you don't have one I strongly suggest that you invest in one right away. These amazing mats are non-stick, easy to clean, and you can bake anything on them without grease or oil! You can get yours here. The silpat mat really helps to get the breading on the cauliflower nuggets nice and crunchy without oil or butter.
I hate the mess that breading can create, so I developed a simple way to bread these cauliflower bites. All you need is a large bowl and bag. I reused a plastic produce bag, but there are also these great reusable bags that you can get to reduce waste although a regular gallon sized resealable bag works just fine. I like that my hands don't get so messy when I use this method, and clean-up is a snap.
I like to use whole wheat flour and panko bread crumbs, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Panko bread crumbs have a really great texture since they are bigger than your average breadcrumb, so you get a better crunch. It's also great for soaking up all the delicious sauce.
You can really use whatever sauce you want to coat the nuggets, or just eat them plain. They are so delicious and will get devoured by vegan and meat-eater alike, be sure to make plenty of them. I made the mistake of thinking that the other members of my fantasy football team wouldn't touch them, and I was dead wrong. There weren't any left by the end of our draft party.
Recipe: Cauliflower Wingz
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
1/2- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt, divided
3/4 cup your favorite milk substitute
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)
Cut up cauliflower into about 2-inch chunks
Put the cauliflower into a bowl and pour the milk over it. Stir to make sure that the pieces are soaked. Pour the flour and half the salt into a bag. Take half the cauliflower wingz out of the milk and put them into the bag with the flour. Depending on the size of your head of cauliflower you may need a bit more flour to cover the pieces completely. Gently shake the bag to make sure that the pieces are well coated, take them out, shaking them to remove any excess flour. Set on the silicone mat. Repeat with the other half of the wingz. Discard the flour and pour the panko bread crumbs into the bag with the remaining salt. Put half the floured wingz back into the bowl with the milk substitute and carefully roll them around to make sure they are soaked. Place them into the bag with the panko breadcrumbs and gently move them around to make sure they are completely covered in bread crumbs. Take them out, shake off excess bread crumbs and place them on the silicone mat. Repeat with remaining wingz. Bake for 25- 30 minutes until the outside is crispy, beginning to brown, and they are fork tender.
While the wingz are baking make your sauce by mixing 1 cup of your favorite hot sauce with 3 Tbsp vegan butter in a sauce pan on a low heat until it begins to simmer. (I used Frank's original hot sauce and Earth Balance) Remove from heat. When the wingz are done baking, let them cool for a minute and then put them into the sauce, turning them over to make sure they are well coated. Serve and enjoy.
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and make a purchase within a set amount of mite I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
