Cauliflower can do just about everything. You already know that and love the vegetable for that very reason. So the fact that you can dip florets into a buttermilk batter and fry them into golden popcorn nuggets might not exactly surprise you. Though, I hope it still gets you really freakin' excited.
While browsing through various popcorn chicken recipes, I had trouble determining exactly what the qualifying "popcorn" factor was. The small shape was similar, but the marinade (or lack thereof) as well as the method of dredging and frying differed. Luckily I was able to figure out that I needed buttermilk. Most popcorn recipes call for it, so I made it work for popcorn cauliflower.
Marinating chicken in buttermilk yields amazingly tender results; marinating cauliflower in buttermilk sounds straight up weird. I didn't do it. Instead, I made a quick batter by whisking together buttermilk, flour and hot sauce. Once the florets are dunked and evenly coated, they get rolled in breadcrumbs, then fried. No one said this was going to be healthy.
These fried cauli bites look strikingly similar to chicken nuggets, and the crispy coating is similar ... so much so that you may even be able to tempt the veggie-hating picky eater in your life. (We all have one.)
GET THE RECIPE HERE.
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