These Jerk Cauliflower Wings Are a Supremely Easy Vegetarian Snack

Cookbook author and food stylist Rukmini Iyer’s new book, The Green Barbecue: Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes to Cook Outdoors & In, arrives this month, just in time for grilling season. Over the course of 75 recipes, Iyer amply demonstrates that outdoor cooking doesn’t have to be synonymous with meat — and that throwing a few slabs of eggplant on the grill is just a jumping-off point to the wide world of vegetable grilling. Iyer’s jerk cauliflower wings are a good encapsulation of her approach, which layers texture and flavor to make vegetables taste like their best selves. As Iyer writes, this makes an “easy, delicious snack to hand around with drinks,” and there’s absolutely no downside to doubling the amount of dip you make — remember, it is really, really hard to go wrong with a good dip.

Jerk Cauliflower Wings Recipe with Blue Cheese Dip Recipe

Serves 4 as a snack

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ tablespoons jerk seasoning
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

For the dip:

3½ ounces (100 grams) blue cheese, crumbled
3½ ounces (100 grams) natural yogurt
1 ounce (30 grams) mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut the cauliflower into medium florets, then put them into a large bowl with the olive oil, jerk seasoning, and sea salt flakes. Mix well to coat, then set aside.

Step 2: For the dip, stir the blue cheese, yogurt, and mayonnaise together with the freshly ground black pepper.

Step 3: Once your barbecue is good and hot, grill the cauliflower for 4–5 minutes per side, until charred and cooked through.

Step 4: Scatter the florets with a little more salt as needed and serve hot with the dip on the side.

Reprinted with permission from The Green Barbecue: Vegan & Vegetarian Recipes to Cook Outdoors & In by Rukmini Iyer, copyright © 2022. Published by Countryman Press, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company.
Photography by David Loftus, copyright © 2022.