Baked Cauliflower Wings 2 Ways

Preheat oven to 400ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the buttermilk coating. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, salt and pepper, and spices. Slowly add the buttermilk and water while whisking. Let this rest at room temperature while you chop the cauliflower into chunks just bigger than bite-size. I estimated mine to be about the size of two or three bites.

Dunk the cauliflower chunks into the buttermilk coating, moving them around to make sure each piece is enrobed completely. Shake a little of the coating off so that it isn’t too thick of a layer, then transfer the pieces to one of the baking sheets. Bake at 400ºF for 25–27 minutes, or until coating is light brown with a bit of crispy char around the edges. Remove from the oven, cool completely on the baking sheet, and raise the oven temperature to 425ºF.

While the cauliflower cools, prepare the sweet chili sauce. In a small bowl, whisk sambal oelek, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Slowly drizzle in sesame oil while whisking for another minute or two. Set aside.

Pour the BBQ sauce into another small bowl for dunking the cauliflower chunks.

Dunk each chunk of cauliflower into one of the two sauces, shake off a little sauce, and then transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheets, one for each of the sauce flavors. Bake at 425ºF for 12–15 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender when poked with a fork, then remove from the oven to cool slightly.

While the cauliflower bakes, prepare the blue cheese dip. In a small bowl, whisk yogurt, sour cream, mayo, and apple cider vinegar. Grate the garlic clove into the bowl and whisk again. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then garnish with fresh thinly sliced chives. Serve with carrots and celery and cauliflower wings.

Store leftovers of the cauliflower wings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week, and leftovers of the blue cheese dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month. Enjoy!