I decided to start this post with an amazing photo and also a memory to go along with it…All because it would be a crime if I didn’t tell you why I decided to post this recipe for The Easy Vegan Blog Tour!
It all started on Thanksgiving week in 2013. My family and I were visiting my sister in-law at her new house and celebrating the holiday. Being the typical vegans exploring a new territory, my husband and I decided to rent a minivan for the duration of our trip and take the kids with us to explore during the day to all the historic sites in Boston and plan EVERYTHING around the vegan/vegan friendly restaurants that the city had to offer. One place in particular was an all vegan restaurant called Root (which sadly closed its doors recently). While there, we must have ordered a little bit of everything on the menu. One item that stood out was their Cauliflower Po’ Boy which was their special of the day. After having that sandwich, it was all I could think about until we went next door to FoMu for dessert. Needless to say that night had my family and I in a MAJOR food coma. My in-laws sadly stayed at home during this time (in their defense, there was an illness going around that week too!) but I know if they did join us, they would have been in heaven too! After our time in Boston was done, the first thing I did when we got back home to Charlottesville, VA was to recreate the Cauliflower Po’ Boy. The results were ok but the spices and the sauce were a bit off.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I was given a copy of The Easy Vegan Cookbook to review and noticed a Cauliflower Po’ Boy recipe. In comparison to the one I tried to make myself, this version was baked (making it a bit more figure friendly!) and the sauce recipe was pretty straight forward and not a bunch of guess work. Long story short…The spices were spot-on to the sandwich I remembered at Root restaurant and the sauce was to die for! I didn’t even notice the cauliflower wasn’t fried!
So without any further delay….Here’s the recipe that took my family down memory lane!
SPICY (OR NOT) CAULIFLOWER PO’ BOY (Reprinted from The Easy Vegan Cookbook Copyright © 2015 by Kathy Hester. Published by Page St Publishing)•gluten-free option*•soy-free•oil-free option**Living in New Orleans makes you think anything can be madeinto a sandwich. After all, if you can have aFrench fry po’ boy, why not one made of cauliflower? Please note that the cauliflower will be bone dry after it’s roasted, so it will need to be “dressed” in some kind of saucy condiment. In New Orleans, if you order a sandwich “dressed,” that means you want mayo, lettuce and tomato.SERVES 4½ head cauliflower, broken into florets½ loaf soft French bread, cut into 4 pieces depending on loafsize (*use gluten-free bread)DRY MIX½ cup (62.5 g) white whole-wheat flour or regular whole wheat (*use a gluten-free flour blend)¼ cup (30.5 g) cornmeal1 tablespoon (5 g) DIY Cajun Seasoning Blend (page 30) (TRVH note: If you use store bought Cajun seasoning….USE SALT FREE!!! Trust me, you’ll thank me later!)2 teaspoons (3.3 g) nutritional yeast1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoon smoked paprika¼ teaspoon black pepperWET MIX2 tablespoons (30 ml) unsweetened nondairy milk1 tablespoon (15 ml) not-too-hot vinegar-based hot sauce such as Texas Pete or Louisiana Hot SauceSPICY MAYO¼ cup (60 g) vegan mayo or Cashew Sour Cream (page 22)1½ teaspoons (7 ml) garlic Tabasco or the hot sauce your used in the wet mix½ teaspoon Dijon mustardPreheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a large sheet pan with oil (**or line with parchment paper). Set aside.Combine the dry mix ingredients in a small mixing bowl and the wet ones in a separate bowl. Toss the cauliflower florets in the wet mixture then transfer to the dry mixture and coat well.Spread the florets on the sheet pan and roast for 20 to 30minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Cook until the cauliflower is tender and is easily pierced with a fork.While the cauliflower roasts, mix the mayo ingredients together. If the French bread is fresh there is no need to toast it, but if it’s getting dry, go ahead and toast it.Spread a thick layer of the spicy mayo (**use mustard or tofu sour cream) on both sides of the bread, then layer with the cooked cauliflower. You can top with more hot sauce, lettuce and tomato.Per serving:Calories 35.6, protein 0.0 g, total fat 3.5 g, carbohydrates 0.0 g, sodium 131.9 mg, fiber 0.0 g
Thank you so much for being on my book blog tour – I am thrilled that you like the po’boy recipe!!
Pingback: Pumpkin Hummus + Easy Vegan Cookbook GIVEAWAY | the taste space