Crunchiest brassica with hot sauce

Serve these crunchy, peppery cauliflower and broccoli pieces with sour cream and cucumber, for a hit of freshness when your mouth is singing with heat.

Crunchiest brassica with hot sauce. Credit: Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower, florets cut off
• 1 broccoli, florets cut off
• 400 ml water
• 100 g rice flour
• 200 g plain flour
• 1 tsp old bay
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 L vegetable oil, to fry

Sauce

• 100 ml hot sauce
• 100 g cold margarine
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

To serve

• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• Cucumber sticks
• Vegan sour cream

Instructions

1. Place half of the plain flour in a large bowl, add water and whisk; it should be a thin consistency.
2. Mix together the remaining plain flour and rice flour, old bay, baking powder and a pinch of salt.
3. Dip the broccoli and cauliflower pieces in the wet mixture then coat with the dry mix. Place on a rack to rest.
4. Heat oil to 180°C. Fry the broccoli and cauliflower in batches for about 5 minutes or until crisp and brown.
5. Add all ingredients for the sauce to a cold pan. Turn the heat up to medium-high and stir so that the margarine emulsifies in the hot sauce. Once the butter melts, remove it from the heat. Toss the fried cauliflower and broccoli through it all.
6. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve with sour cream, chives and cucumbers.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.