HOT CAULIFLOWER BITES (Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS:
100g plain flour; 1tsp jerk spice mix; ½tsp garlic powder; 175ml oat milk; 1 whole cauliflower, leaves removed, broken into large bitesize florets; ½-1 tsp hot sauce, to taste (it’s pretty hot!); 1tbsp maple syrup; 1tsp sunflower oil; salt and black pepper
METHOD:
1. To make the batter, mix together plain flour, jerk spice mix, garlic powder and oat milk in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C /375°F /gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
3. Dip the cauliflower florets, one at a time, into the thick, spicy batter until coated all over. Let them drip a little over the bowl to remove any excess batter, then place them slightly spaced on the lined baking tray.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, turning once, until light golden all over and the batter sets. Meanwhile, mix together the hot sauce, maple syrup and sunflower oil.
5. Carefully remove the baking tray from the oven. Brush the hot sauce mixture over the cauliflower bites until coated, then put the tray back in the oven for another 20 minutes until golden.
6. Place in a serving bowl then tuck in, dunking them into a sweet chilli mayonnaise, if you like.
During a cycling run, Mike (Michael Angelo Corvino) confesses to best friend Kyle (Kyle Marvin) he has slept with his French girlfriend and fiancée, Ava (Judith Godreche). The two men fall out in spectacular style. While Kyle recovers with his parents (Talia Balsam, George Wendt) and rekindles love with high school sweetheart Marissa (Gayle Rankin), Mike has no emotional support. He descends into a deep depression, turns to the bottle and piles on weight until Kyle’s caring family stage an intervention and invite Mike to join them for Christmas.
The Climb is a quirky ode to male friendship under duress,
infused with the dry wit and warmth of writers and stars Corvino and Marvin.
■ The Climb is available to download/stream from March 1