Breaded Cauliflower
Meet the Cook: My mother gets the credit for this delicious and easy dish, which is a mainstay at our house. It can be served as an appetizer or side dish...and is wonderful with turkey, roast beef, and ham.
Meet the Cook: My mother gets the credit for this delicious and easy dish, which is a mainstay at our house. It can be served as an appetizer or side dish...and is wonderful with turkey, roast beef, and ham.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 small head cauliflower broken into florets (about 5 cups)
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley minced
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- minced fresh parsley optional
- Carbohydrate 43.2196081289835 g
- Cholesterol 303.911875117485 mg
- Fat 42.8550928647766 g
- Fiber 4.52036451335546 g
- Protein 13.3385233060909 g
- Saturated Fat 24.6844809278699 g
- Serving Size 1 1 - (187g)
- Sodium 1440.16393141664 mg
- Sugar 38.6992436156281 g
- Trans Fat 3.00760301110623 g
- Calories 603 calories
Step-by-step
- Place cauliflower and a small amount of water in a skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and seasonings. Place bread crumbs and cheese in a large resealable plastic bag. Add a few florets at a time to the egg mixture; toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cauliflower to crumb mixture; toss to coat.
- In a skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook cauliflower in batches until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.
Butter drives the browning reactions and infuses rich flavor into the vegetable, operating as both a cooking medium and a fat source that conducts heat efficiently across the pan surface. Managing moisture remains the primary mechanical challenge when preparing brassicas. Steaming the cauliflower florets in a skillet with a small amount of water for exactly 8 minutes softens the cellular walls just enough to yield a crisp-tender interior without turning the vegetable to mush. Thoroughly draining this water prevents excess steam from forming inside the breadcrumb crust during frying, which would otherwise strip the coating of its crunch. Using fresh garlic powder and onion powder instead of raw alliums ensures the seasoning clings evenly to the egg wash without introducing extraneous moisture that could destabilize the adherence of the breadcrumbs. Egg yolks provide lecithin and proteins that act as an adhesive matrix, binding the seasoned crumbs securely to the damp exterior of the florets before they hit the heat. When substituting dried breadcrumbs with fresh alternatives, expect a softer outer layer because fresh bread retains higher internal moisture levels. Cooking the coated florets in melted butter over medium-high heat for approximately 4 minutes per batch requires watchful monitoring to achieve a uniform golden brown exterior without burning the milk solids suspended in the fat. Maintaining this specific heat level allows the Parmesan cheese in the bag mixture to melt slightly and form a crisp, savory shell around each piece.
