These tacos are a first pass at the buffalo cauliflower trend – making veggies with that spicy, vinegary, buffalo wings sauce that everyone loves.
Now, purists will tell you that buffalo sauce must be made with lots of butter and with Frank’s Red Hot sauce. I did neither here. Partly because I find it difficult to do what people tell me to do, and partly because I have had buffalo cauli bites that are too greasy, too soggy, and too saturated with sauce to make me want to eat them (see above link to the Frank’s recipe). We need to keep in mind that roasted cauliflower doesn’t have the crispy skin to soak up sauce that is such a key factor in good chicken wings. I think this version avoids the soggy pitfalls aforementioned. Also, I used Tabasco, because I had it in house and it is a favorite of mine in the vinegary hot sauce category.
As a result, these don’t look much like buffalo anything. But I think they taste better, and I really, really wanted to hang on to that crunch that you lose when you douse veggies in a lot of sauce.
I also made the smoothest, creamiest avocado lime crema, which left me wondering why I haven’t been blending avocados into sauces and dressings so far. (Also: it just occurred to me that I can make a version of that delicious carrot-ginger dressing you get at sushi restaurants by using carrot juice. I don’t have to wait for a high-powered blender to come into my life! Making this crema was very creatively productive for me.)
I put the spicy buffalo florets and the cream on tacos, because that seemed like the best decision at the time. I wasn’t wrong. But you could do a lot of other things with these little guys. They stayed crispy (and spicy!) in the fridge for a few days, and were good additions to salads, rice dishes, and one very delicious afternoon snack.
- 1 head cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets
- cilantro, shredded cabbage, and jicama or radish for topping
- tortillas
- ¼ cup of hot sauce
- 1½ tablespoons of olive oil, ghee, or melted butter (I used ghee)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of dried chopped garlic or garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried chopped onion or onion powder
- a pinch of cayenne (optional, just for those who want a real kick)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ripe avocado
- juice of ½ a lime
- 4 teaspoons water
- Heat your oven to 425F/220C.
- To make the sauce: combine the hot sauce, oil or butter, salt, vinegar, and spices in a small bowl. Mix to combine.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spread the florets on the sheet, then spoon over the sauce. Using your hands, toss to combine, ensuring the florets are coated in sauce mixture. Spread the cauliflower in an even layer, leaving space between florets. (this ensures crisping and not steaming)
- Bake for 15 minutes, toss the florets, then bake for a further 5 minutes, or until cauliflower is browned in spots and still crisp.
- To make the crema: blend the avocado, lime juice, water, and a pinch of salt with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning and texture (more pourable, thinner sauces will require more water).
- Assemble the tacos: layer cauliflower with cabbage, jicama, and cilantro. Top with crema. Enjoy!