Feb 28, 2011
I must preface by saying while I have not made this exact recipe as listed, fried cauliflower is one of the most requested dishes in my house among my 3 kids!! My teen sons' friends even beg for this dish! My family could go through an entire head of cauliflower (ONLY when cooked this way) in <5 minutes! Half of it is usually eaten before all is cooked. But enough fluff, onto the important stuff -- I make it as many others have suggested here, with seasoned bread crumbs and usually a small shake or two of cayenne into crumbs as well, and sometimes parmesan if I think of it. The prep gets messy, so I suggest getting all ready ahead of time as opposed to production-line style, which I tend to do when rushed. Have a towel on hand to keep wiping your fingers or all the wet crumby goo will stick and end up as floating fried lumps in your pan. I often need to mix up more of the coating, so keep the ingredients handy if you do not prep all florets in advance. Be careful not to burn the oil when frying in batches. If necessary, discard dark oil, wipe pan out with a paper towel and heat new oil to finish. ***One of THE most important steps is to be SURE you (sea) salt & (fresh cracked) pepper this immediately after you put it on the paper towels to drain so the flavor pops. Do this while hot and this, too, will be a new family favorite!
—Garlic Cheerios
