Cauliflower & Broccoli Tempura with Pickled salad and Sweet Chilli Sauce

Cauliflower & Broccoli Tempura with Pickled Salad & Sweet Chilli Sauce


Here's a great little lunch or starter for 4 people.  You shouldn't ever think that deep fried food is unhealthy. If cooked at the correct temperature the minimum amount of oil is absorbed leaving a fabulously crispy tempura with a slight crunch to the cauliflower & broccoli...  a pure delight.  Of course you can adapt this recipe for most vegetables of your choice.

Try making the salad first and leaving it to 'pickle' for an hour or so if possible. The vegetables then soak up the marinade making a crisp, yet flavoursome dish in itself.

You will need either a deep fat fryer with temperature control or a wok/ deep frying pan and a thermometer. I used Sunflower oil to fry but just use what you have to hand. 


The Salad

1 tsbp soy sauce
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar (or red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar)  
1 tbsp Mirin 
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp wasabi powder or paste
pinch of chilli flakes
1" piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
1 tsp black onion seeds (optional)
1 tsp palm or brown sugar

mix all the above ingredients together

6 radishes thinly sliced
6" piece of cucumber sliced thinly
1   red pepper                "        "
1 red onion                    "        "

place everything in a bowl, toss together with the marinade and refrigerate until needed 


You will need 

1 small Cauliflower broken into florets
1 head of Broccoli     "          "         "
Steam over boiling water for 3 minutes. I recommend that you don't boil the vegetables as you want them to be as dry a possible before frying.   


For the Tempura Batter ( do not make until you're absolutely ready with everything else)  

3 oz/85 gms self raising flour
2 tbsps Cornflour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp Wasabi powder or Colmans Mustard powder
1 tsp baking powder
enough fizzy water to produce a double cream consistency ( should cover the back of a spoon without immediately running off it ) 

Sieve together the dry ingredients 
Very quickly combine everything together... do not over mix ...it doesn't matter if there's still a few lumps in it


Now heat up the oven to around 120c/250f  and place a tray lined with paper towel in it .. just to keep the batches of tempura warm whilst the rest is cooking...leave the door slightly ajar so the tempura doesn't go soggy


To Fry

Heat the oil  to 190c/375f

NB ...Fry in small batches...do not overload the pan ... and make sure the oil gets back to temp before adding more tempura

Quickly dip small batches of the vegetables in the batter and fry until beautifully crisp & light brown in colour
remove with a slotted spoon to the lined oven tray to keep warm whilst you cook the rest.



Serve while it's still hot along with the pickled salad and some shop bought sweet chilli sauce and a sprinking of chopped chives or coriander (cilantro) 
  

Cauliflower Cheese

Cauliflower Cheese

I didn't realise until yesterday when I held a Cheese Party on my Facebook Page that Cauliflower Cheese seems to be almost unheard of in other parts of the world. It's such a staple for us in the UK either served on it's own or as a side dish to a main meal. Well here's my take on it. I love to serve this for a lunch or brunch with crispy bacon, grilled tomatoes and a crusty baguette to mop up all the delicious cheese sauce.  I quite often break up the florets and add steamed brocolli to the dish to make a cauliflower & brocolli cheese bake which we almost always have with a traditional roast dinner.

This recipe is in both Metric and Imperial Weights. I have posted a conversion chart on my blog for those of you who prefer to work in cups and spoons.

A medium sized Cauliflower, around a pound or so in weight, leaves removed, the centre stem taken out but left whole.
Steam this for 10 minutes only and leave to one side while you make the sauce. If you decide to boil the cauliflower instead do so for around 7 minutes max &  please ensure that it is thoroughly drained otherwise you could end up with a very watery cauliflower cheese.

Heat the oven to 230c/450f gas 8

The Cheese sauce,
3oz/ 80g of butter
3oz/80g flour
1 heaped teaspoon of Mustard powder (I use Colmans) if you haven't got this then 1 large tsp prepared English mustard will be fine.
1 pt semi-skimmed milk just brought to the boil
4oz/ 120g strong cheddar cheese grated for the sauce
2oz/ 55g strong cheddar to sprinkle over the top
salt & white pepper to season

To make the sauce
Melt the butter in a large pan
add the flour & mustard powder and beat together
Cook for a minute and then slowly add the milk a bit at a time beating well between each addition before adding more.
When all the milk has been incorporated, simmer the sauce for around 5 minutes to cook the flour through.
Add the cheese and beat again, just cook for a minute or two, season to taste.
The sauce should be thick & glossy to coat the cauliflower and not at all runny.
If it's too solid just add a drop more milk

You can either split the cauliflower into florets at this stage or leave it whole as I have done.
Place in an ovenproof dish.
Pour over the sauce
Sprinkle over the reserved 2oz of cheese
Bake in a very hot oven for around 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden and the sauce bubbling hot.