Crispy Sesame Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps

This recipe and photography were provided courtesy of our friend, and Heinen’s contributor, Beth Opfer, MS,RDN, LDN. Follow her on Instagram.

There are endless opportunities with this recipe to make it exactly the way you want! I prefer lettuce wraps to get the most flavor out of the sesame cauliflower but you can serve the cauliflower alone as a side dish, on quinoa, brown rice or any desired grain, with naan bread, or in a salad. I love the crunch to the cauliflower. Enjoy!

Crispy Sesame Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

For the cauliflower:

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets or buy precut
• 1 cup almond flour (can substitute with cassava, chickpea, regular or wheat flour)
• 1 cup water, plus extra (use 1.5 cups if using cassava flour)
• ½-1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the sesame sauce:

• ¼ cup coconut aminos (can substitute with tamari soy sauce or any desired soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup (buy local if you can!)
• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds

Method:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour of choice (e.g. almond), water, garlic, sesame seeds and salt and pepper. Whisk together. If the batter is too thick/pasty, add water by tbsp. for desired consistency.
• Place cauliflower florets into batter and evenly coat. Transfer cauliflower florets to baking sheet.
• Bake battered cauliflower for 20 minutes. While cauliflower is baking, make the sauce.
• In a small saucepan, combine the coconut aminos (or desired soy sauce), maple syrup, sesame oil, rice vinegar, tomato paste, garlic and sesame seeds. Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.
• After cauliflower has baked, remove and let cool. Once cooled, transfer cauliflower to large bowl and cover with sauce. Coat evenly. Leave some sauce in bowl to drizzle over.
• Bake cauliflower for another 20 minutes or until edges are starting to darken. Remove the sesame cauliflower and let it sit for 5 minutes.
• Serve cauliflower on lettuce wraps, or grain of choice (see description for other ideas!). Drizzle the remaining sauce and top with extra sesame seeds.

Notes:

• The sauce was light in this recipe. Double the batch if you like it saucy.
• Add chopped green onions to final dish if desired.
• If you want a little more spice to the sauce, add 1 tbsp. chili paste to the sauce.