Instructions

1. Cut the florets down until each is a single mouthful. A large one carries a dense stem core that is still leathery when the frilly outer parts have gone to dust.
2. Get the florets properly dry after washing them. Cauliflower holds water in the crevices between the buds, and oil will not stick to a wet surface — it beads up and runs off.
3. Stir the paprika, oregano, coriander, cumin, onion, garlic, cayenne and salt into the olive oil first, making a slurry before the vegetable is anywhere near it. Dry spice shaken over oiled florets lands in patches, and those patches darken.
4. Turn the florets through the slurry with your hands, working into the underside of each head. Poured over and stirred with a spoon, the tops take everything and the stems take nothing.
5. Lay them out with the cut stem face against the tray. The stem is the slowest part of the floret and it does best with the mesh right up against it.
6. Open at 60 °C for 1 hour. The hot start drives the surface water off quickly, which is what sets the spice crust rather than letting it slide off.
7. Bring it down to 43 °C and hold there for 10 hours. The remaining water has to come out of the stem, and it comes out slowly whatever the machine is set to.
8. A finished popper shatters between the teeth with no chewy core, and you should be able to hear it. Test a cold one — oil keeps them feeling limp while they are warm, and batches get put back on the tray for no reason because of it.
9. Keep them in a rigid airtight container rather than a bag, for about three weeks. They crush easily, and it is the olive oil rather than any moisture that eventually goes stale on you.