Balaboosta's Fried Cauliflower Recipe by Heather

Balaboosta is a great Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Restaurant on Mulberry Street in Nolita.  If you haven't been, I highly recommend you go!  If you don't live in NYC, you can enjoy this recipe at home, and it's just as good as the original.  You'll make a cauliflower lover out of anyone with this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the crispy cauliflower:
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 cup flour
5 cups canola oil
3 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the white wine vinaigrette:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbs. honey
1 tsp. dijon mustard
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Garnish:
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 parsley, chopped



It's worth reading this recipe through once before starting.  There are a lot of steps, but if you set all of your bowls and ingredients up beforehand, you'll go through the recipe much quicker.

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinegar, honey, and mustard.  Slowly drizzle the olive oil while whisking to create an emulsion.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside until ready to use.



In a large heavy pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees. If you don't have a candy thermometer to measure this, you can stick the end of a wooden spoon upright into the oil, and you'll know the oil is hot enough when little bubbles form off the spoon.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  To blanch the cauliflower, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and keep it next to the stove.  Working in small batches, plunge the cauliflower florets into the boiling water for 2 minutes, then place them into the ice bath.  Repeat until all the florets are blanched.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Add in the florets, and toss with your hands until the florets are well coated with the flour.

Working in small batches again, carefully drop the florets into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the florets to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.



Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle the vinaigrette over the crispy cauliflower.  Toss together the cauliflower, vinaigrette, and the raisins, pine nuts, and parsley.