Description
Po’boys are a New Orleans specialty, usually made with fried shrimp, oysters, or catfish. Here we’ve subbed in cauliflower, ‘cause we love veggies. And we swapped the deep fryer for an air fryer, ‘cause we like eating more than we like cleaning. Battered, browned, sauced, and topped with a crunchy, tart celery slaw, these sandwiches require both hands and a sturdy napkin for maximum enjoyment.
Ingredients
For the Blue Cheese Dressing:
4oz blue cheese, crumbled and divided
½ cup buttermilk
2oz cream cheese
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Celery Slaw:
4 celery ribs, very thinly sliced
¼ cup celery leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon preferred vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Cauliflower:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ cup water
1¾ cups panko breadcrumbs
1 medium head cauliflower (1½-1¾ lbs), trimmed and cut into florets
Cooking spray
¾ cup Buffalo-style hot sauce, plus more for serving
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
4 sub or hoagie rolls or banh mi breads, split lengthwise
Shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce
Instructions
Directions:
- For the dressing, in a blender combine half the blue cheese, buttermilk, cream cheese, vinegar, and salt. Blend on medium speed until smooth. Stir in remaining blue cheese. Set aside.
- For the slaw, in a medium bowl stir to combine celery, celery leaves, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, garlic powder, and salt. Whisk in water until smooth. Place breadcrumbs in a second large bowl.
- Add cauliflower to bowl with batter, and use a silicone spatula to coat cauliflower in batter. Transfer cauliflower to bowl with breadcrumbs and toss to coat.
- Place cauliflower in air fryer basket (depending on size of air fryer, you may need to do this in batches). Spray lightly with cooking spray and cook at 375℉ until just tender and starting to brown, about 15 minutes.
- While cauliflower cooks, make the Buffalo sauce. In a small saucepan combine hot sauce, butter, vinegar, and sugar. Place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted.
- Transfer sauce to a large bowl (you can just wipe out the bowl that had the crumbs in it). Toss cauliflower in sauce to coat, then place back in air fryer basket. Cook at 375℉ for 8 minutes more or until nicely browned.
- To serve, divide cauliflower among rolls, Drizzle with more Buffalo sauce if desired, then drizzle with blue cheese dressing and top with celery slaw and lettuce.