Buffalo Cauliflower Salad + Vegan Cool Lime Ranch Dressing
At the moment I have a little bit of time off before I start work for the summer. That means that I have time to create some fun new recipes and other posts to share here! Yay! I spent my evening last night scrolling through Pinterest, as one does, and found lots of wonderful inspiration. I also have a ridiculously long list of recipes I want to create or recreate taking up a significant portion of my journal. While I was on my little Pinterest binger I pinned a ton of recipes by one of my favourite food writers, Laura Wright, of The First Mess. She had some pretty epic recipes focused around cauliflower, which is what inspired me to create this.
This recipe is delicious and the buffalo cauliflower will give you a real kick in the pants. Be sure to consume this with a big glass of milk (or almond milk for my fellow dairy-sensitive peeps). While I was prepping this this afternoon I kept popping the buffalo cauliflower bits and my mouth was on fire, but fear not! When the salad is consumed all together the spice really isn’t so bad. The vegan cool lime ranch dressing really nicely offsets the spice. If you are a lover of spice then this is the recipe for you. If spice isn’t really your thing then feel free to use a mild hot sauce for the cauliflower. You can easily serve this as a main, but it would also work nicely as a side for a larger crowd. It’s up to you to decide how to serve it 🙂
I’ve had a few experiences with breading cauliflower that did not turn out so well, so to accomplish this I was sure to read up on some sources to get expert opinions on how to execute this recipe with perfection. My best advice is to make sure that the cauliflower florets are completely dry before you bread them and to give the florets a bit of time to cool after baking before coating them in hot sauce and then again before adding them to the salad. Follow those instructions and you should be home free.
xx
Ashley
Ingredients
Buffalo Cauliflower
- 4 cups small cauliflower florets (from about 1/2 a large cauliflower head)
- 3/4 cup chickpea flour
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 cup filtered water
- sea salt + pepper
- 1/2 cup hot sauce of choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Vegan Cool Lime Dressing
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
- 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- sea salt + pepper
Salad
- 2 bunches romaine, washed and chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 small bell pepper, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment, or a silicone mat if you've got one.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, spices, and water until you have a nice smooth batter. Toss in the cauliflower florets and stir until they are evenly coated in batter. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the florets to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes ore until lightly golden.
- Rinse out the batter bowl and use it to whisk together the hot sauce and the olive oil. Once the cauliflower is out of the oven, give it a few minutes to cool before tossing it in the hot sauce. Break off any large chunks of breading on the florets and then toss them in the hot sauce mixture. Transfer the florets back to the baking tray and bake for a further 15 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is baking, prep the dressing. Add all the dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Place the chopped romaine, cherry tomatoes, pepper, and green onion (reserving some to sprinkle on top) in a large salad bowl. When the cauliflower is done baking and has cooled a bit it can be added to the bowl as well. Drizzle with the cool lime ranch and serve immediately.