Kids Love Cauliflower When It’s Cooked Like Fast Food!

The mere mention of “cauliflower” at dinner time can make your children want to sprint back to their rooms. This cruciferous vegetable’s bad rap among the little ones isn’t really about its shape—which can be quite fun if presented creatively—but more about its potent sulfur smell that fills the house during cooking. And as we know, olfactory memories can last a lifetime.

You’ve tried everything imaginable to get them to eat it: baked into a creamy béchamel gratin, whipped into a fluffy soufflé, enclosed in a flaky pastry pie. You’ve grated it into tabbouleh, blended it into soup, and stirred it into risotto. But nothing, absolutely nothing, has won them over.

To spark their interest, you have two options: wait for a natural miracle in their taste development (which might never happen) or advance to phase two of your “cauliflower” plan (which sounds much cooler in English). Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a visual deception convincing enough for them to try even a small floret. This means, implicitly, mimicking a dish they absolutely adore. Suddenly, an image pops into your head: your little rascals on a Saturday night fever when you take them to the local KFC to dig into buckets of breaded chicken wings from the Hot Wings menu.

There’s your breakthrough idea: “cauliflower wings.” Now, to turn this tempting concept into reality. Handing over to Lydie, who has shared her own recipe on Instagram using an Airfryer (though it can also be done in an oven). The recipe is designed for 2 to 4 people, depending on what else you’re serving. Start by plucking the florets from a fresh cauliflower, rinse and dry them. Then, in a mixing bowl, combine 150 grams of flour or cornstarch, 1 tablespoon of paprika, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of onion powder, and 200 ml of milk, season with salt and pepper. Coat the florets in this mixture and cook them in the Airfryer for 10 minutes at 180°C.

Meanwhile, whisk 1 tablespoon of honey with some oil. After the initial cooking, brush the cauliflower with this quick sweet glaze, then cook for an additional 10 minutes at 200°C to get them crispy. Keep this trick up your sleeve to never have a “cauliflower” headache again.