Tangy Deep-Fried Lemon Cauliflower

This side dish takes a bit of time to put together, but is completely worth the effort. If you increase the portion size, this dish can easily serve as a vegetarian entrée.

The cauliflower is boiled, drained, coated in egg wash, dusted with flour, and deep-fried. The deep-fried cauliflower is then mixed with a bright & acidic sauce made from white wine vinegar, lemon, shallot, olive oil, capers, and fresh herbs.

The following recipe provides enough cauliflower for 6-8 side portions, or roughly 3-4 entrée-sized portions.

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Tangy Deep-Fried Lemon Cauliflower

This side dish takes a bit of time to put together, but is completely worth the effort. If you increase the portion size, this dish can easily serve as a vegetarian entrée.

The cauliflower is boiled, drained, coated in egg wash, dusted with flour, and deep-fried. The deep-fried cauliflower is then mixed with a bright & acidic sauce made from white wine vinegar, lemon, shallot, olive oil, capers, and fresh herbs.

The following recipe provides enough cauliflower for 6-8 side portions, or roughly 3-4 entrée-sized portions.

Ingredients

For the Deep-Fried Cauliflower:

• 1 whole large head of cauliflower (leaves & stem discarded, remainder cut into large pieces)
• 4 whole eggs (whisked)
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• 4 cups sunflower seed oil (for deep-frying cauliflower)

For the Tangy White Wine Vinegar & Lemon Sauce:

• ½ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 shallot (finely minced)
• 3 tsp white granulated sugar
• Zest of 2 lemons
• Juice of 2 lemons
• ¼ cup capers (finely minced)
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup fresh parsley (finely minced)
• 3 Tbsp fresh chives (finely sliced)
• Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions 

For the Deep-Fried Cauliflower:

• Remove the stem and leaves from the cauliflower.
• Cut the exposed cauliflower head into large sections, with roughly 10-12 large pieces per head.
• Boil the cauliflower pieces in boiling salted water until the cauliflower is completely tender, but before it is falling apart.
• Carefully drain the cauliflower florets on paper towels.
• Whisk together the 4 whole eggs with the 1 tsp of Kosher salt, and set the egg mixture aside.
• Whisk together the 2 cups of all-purpose flour with the cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, Kosher salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, and set flour dredge mixture aside in a bowl for later.
• Add the 4 cups of sunflower seed oil to a heavy pot that is suitable for deep frying, with high sides.
• Heat the oil to roughly 350F.
• When the oil is hot, coat a few pieces of the cooked cauliflower in the egg mixture.
• Drain the egg mixture slightly from the cooked cauliflower, and toss the cauliflower pieces that are coated in egg in the flour dredge mixture that you made earlier.
• Carefully drop a few pieces of breaded cauliflower into the hot oil, and cook until they are golden brown in color.
• When the cauliflower pieces are golden-brown, from them from the oil using a slotted spoon, and let the pieces drain on paper towels and sit in a warm place.
• Repeat the dredging and deep-frying process with the remaining pieces of cauliflower.
• Carefully strain and save your deep-frying oil for a second use sometime down the road.

For the Tangy White Wine Vinegar & Lemon Sauce:

• After the cauliflower is deep-fried, or while you are deep frying the cauliflower, you can make the sauce.
• For the sauce, begin by adding the ½ cup of white wine vinegar to a sauce pot on the stove, and increase the heat to high.
• When the white wine vinegar is simmering, add the minced shallot and white granulated sugar, along with the lemon zest and lemon juice.
• Cook the mixture on high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced by roughly 50%.
• When the liquid has reduced by 50%, add the minced capers.
• Whisk in the olive oil, until the mixture is somewhat emulsified.
• Stir in the fresh parsley and chives.
• Taste, and season with Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
• Coat the deep-fried cauliflower pieces in the hot tangy sauce with the fresh herbs, and serve warm.

Notes

This sauce has a really high level of acidity. If you prefer a less acidic sauce, cut down on the vinegar or lemon. You can also add some more white granulated sugar to the sauce, which will help balance out some of the acidity.