BBQ Cauli Bites

Dairy-free, wheat-free, soy-free, vegan.

I was at the grocery store browsing vegan options when a box of Cauli Crumble by Big Mountain Foods caught my eye. Now, I’m a fan of Big Mountain Foods. Family-owned, Canadian based – all their products are pretty much some of the healthiest, wholesome and affordable processed (read: time saving) vegan options around. I was about to add the box to my basket when it occurred to me I could simply buy some cauliflower for much less and make my own crumble at home. So back went the box and I went hunting for a head of cauli.

But when it came time to make something to eat, I didn’t feel like spending a lot of time in prep mode, and cauli crumble requires split peas, red pepper, seeds and more. So a quick Google search for easy vegan cauliflower recipes brought up vegan BBQ chicken wings, something I’ve been meaning to try for some time.

SIDE NOTE: I just can’t bring myself to call cauli florets “wings” so I’ve changed the name to “bites”, which is much more apt and you’ll see what I mean when you make these and pop one into your mouth for the first time – yum!

Quick and easy, this recipe took just a few minutes to throw together. More time was spent outside barbecuing than in the kitchen, which suited me just fine on a beautiful warm summer evening. I had some leftover tahini dressing and old fashioned mustard in the fridge, which I used as dip for the bites, but I strongly recommend plum or even peanut sauce for a much more complementary taste (hey, you work with what you’ve got, right?).

Next time I make these I’ll experiment with dips and report back to update the blog!

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower

• 1 cup coconut flour (or rice flour)

• 1 cup water

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ½ teaspoon cumin

• ½ teaspoon paprika

• ½ teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt

• ¼ freshly ground black pepper

• ¼ cup of your favourite vegan bbq sauce (or make your own: https://ohsheglows.com/2011/06/06/homemade-bbq-sauce/)

Directions

• Preheat the bbq to high

• Cut cauliflower into bite sized florets (large enough that they won’t fall through the bbq grill)

• Whisk all the dry ingredients together in one large bowl

• Add water and continue to stir until all the water is incorporated and you have a thin batter

• Add florets to the bowl and toss to coat them all in the batter

• Use tongs or fork to remove florets from bowl, allowing excess batter to drip off, transfer to a plate

• Add florets to hot bbq grill, turning every few minutes, until the batter on the florets look dry

• Transfer florets back to the plate

• Add the bbq sauce to a second bowl, and toss the florets until they’re evenly coated in the sauce

• Grill on the bbq again until the sauce is absorbed, 8-10 minutes

• Serve with dipping sauce