Buffalo cauliflower in the air fryer

Name: Buffalo cauliflower in the air fryer
Cook time: 32 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 70 g Wheat flour; 30 g Butter; 1 tablespoon Olive oil; 1 teaspoon Salt; 200 g Greek Yogurt; 80 ml Hotsauce; 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder; 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika; 100 ml Water; 1 u Cauliflower

Coliflor buffalo en freidora de aire

Easy

Contains allergens

Cereales con glutenLeche

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 32 min
Servings: 4

Summary

Battered cauliflower florets, crisped in the air fryer and tossed in a buttery hot sauce, just like Buffalo wings. Served with a cool yoghurt dip, this is the vegetarian snack that disappears first.

Ingredients

4 servings

70 g Wheat flour
30 g Butter
1 tablespoon Olive oil (sprayed or brushed on)
1 teaspoon Salt (divided between the batter and the yoghurt dip)
200 g Greek Yogurt (for the cool dip)
80 ml Hotsauce (cayenne and vinegar type, not too thick)
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder (half for the batter and half for the yoghurt dip)
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika (sweet)
100 ml Water (cold)
1 u Cauliflower (medium, about 800 g)

Instructions

Break the cauliflower into bite-sized florets of about 4 cm and halve any with thick stalks so they all cook at the same rate. Wash them and dry them very well with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, water, half the garlic powder, the paprika and half a teaspoon of salt into a smooth batter, like a thick pancake batter. Add the cauliflower and mix with your hands until every floret is coated; let the excess drip off.
5 min
Preheat the air fryer to 200 °C for 3 minutes. Grease the basket with a little oil and lay the cauliflower in a single layer with space between the florets; if it does not all fit, cook it in two batches. Spray or brush the tops with the rest of the oil.
3 min
Cook for 15 minutes at 200 °C, shaking the basket or turning the florets halfway. They are ready when the batter is golden and dry to the touch and a knife slides into the stalk with little resistance.
15 min
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan or the microwave and whisk it into the hot sauce with a fork until smooth. For the cool dip, mix the yoghurt with the rest of the garlic powder and a pinch of salt.
3 min
Tip the cauliflower into a large bowl, pour over the hot sauce and toss gently so it is coated without knocking off the batter. Return it to the basket and cook for 3 more minutes at 200 °C so the sauce sticks and dries a little.
4 min
Leave to rest for 2 minutes so the coating sets, then serve straight away with the yoghurt dip on the side.
2 min

Notes

Buffalo sauce was born in Buffalo, New York, in the 1960s to coat chicken wings: a cayenne and vinegar hot sauce emulsified with melted butter. The cauliflower version caught on in the United States as a vegetarian alternative, and in the air fryer it turns crisp with very little oil. Dry the florets well after washing them, as water thins the batter and makes it soggy, and toss them in the sauce just before serving: they soften as they sit. Timings vary quite a bit between models, so check after 10 minutes the first time; in oven-style air fryers with trays, swap the trays round halfway through. In a conventional oven, bake the florets at 220 °C (fan) for about 20-25 minutes on baking paper, turning them halfway, then toss them in the sauce and give them 5 more minutes. Leftovers keep for 2 days in the fridge; reheat them in the air fryer at 180 °C for 4-5 minutes (the microwave makes them soggy). For the classic blue cheese dip, stir 50 g of crumbled blue cheese into the yoghurt; for a vegan version, use margarine instead of butter and a plant-based yoghurt. Celery and carrot sticks are the traditional side, and if you'd like it milder, soften the sauce with a teaspoon of honey.