I came across chef Aaron Sanchez’s recipe for Decadent Tequila battered Cauliflower Tacos and as AMAZING as they sound I wanted to make them less (fattening) decadent. By cutting out the tortilla and incorporating that flavor in the batter I cut a little there. I cut way more by eliminating the generous thick smear of chipotle mayonnaise. More decadence was cut when I removed the cheese from the original recipe. The cauliflower still is rich and delicious. It still isn’t diet food but much of the guilt was cut. As far as serving size the original recipe says it is for 4-5 servings. Servings do differ and each cauliflower will differ in size and in denseness. My cauliflower was very dense and I got maybe 40 florets. After they were battered each one seemed very large to me and I thought I got like 10 servings. They still came out very delicious and you will want to eat several. They are very crisp when they are hot but as they cool they don’t stay as crisp but you can bring back the crisp in your oven.

Ingredience for around 7 servings

7 limes (just the fresh squeezed juice)

1 lime – cut into wedges for serving with cauliflower

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon salt (divided into three teaspoons + extra to taste)

2 serrano peppers – sliced extra thin

3-6 rainbow baby bell peppers (they differ greatly in size when in doubt make more because they taste good) – sliced extra thin

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley leaves

1/2 bunch cilantro rough chopped

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons capers

1 1/2 teaspoons caper brine

1 scalion – rough chopped

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

canola oil for frying

1 cup ap flour

1 cup corn masa flour

1 cup corn starch

2 cups club soda

3 Tablespoons silver tequila

1 large head cauliflower – cut into florets

smoked paprika to taste

mild chili powder to taste

ground chipotle to taste (only 99cents at sprouts grocery)

Directions

In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar, one teaspoon salt. 1 1/2 serrano peppers, baby bell peppers. Leave on counter one hour.

Blend parsley, cilantro, vinegar, capers, brine, scallion, garlic, 1/2 serrano, and one teaspoon salt. Blend till chopped and slowly add olive oil and keep blending. Set to the side.

Get a pot on to fry on medium high heat with the canola oil. You need enough oil to fry up the cauliflower florets. You also need either a cooling rack with something under to catch the oil or a sheet pan with paper towels.

This seemed like too much batter but it wasn’t. In a large bowl combine flours, corn starch, remaining one teaspoon salt and slowly add soda until it looks pourable. You might not need it all.

Be careful frying. Use thongs to dip cauliflower in batter and carefully fry in oil till done. Don’t crowd the pan. They should fry up in 2-3 minutes. Repeat till done.

Sprinkle with salt, smoked paprika, mild chili powder and ground chipotle.

Either dip or toss in chimichurri and top with some lime pickled peppers and wedges of lime.

YOU and YOURS will ENJOY because these are FORKING DELICIOUS!

A SPECIAL THANKS to chef Aaron Sanchez for sharing his recipe for Decadent Tequila Battered Cauliflower Tacos.