Cauliflower Cheese
Here's the thing: I inordinately love Cauliflower Cheese. I know that it sounds like just a cheese sauce poured over nobody's favorite vegetable, but it is so much more than that. A British staple, Cauliflower Cheese is rich and comforting. It's baked mac and cheese without the carbs. It can be served as a main or side dish, though I'm not sure what I would pair it with other than a salad.
Last night I made it for Lovely Carnivorous Boyfriend, who was made curious by all of my descriptions of its awesome yumminess.
Recipe after the jump.
Cauliflower Cheese1 head organic cauliflower, trimmed into florets
2 tbl. butter + extra for pan greasing and breadcrumb pre-browning
2 tbl. flour
1 c. soy milk, heated
~2 c. sharp cheddar
1 tsp. Colman's English Mustard
salt & pepper
~3/4 c. breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
I started with a lovely head of organic cauliflower, which I now wish I had thought to photograph.
Preheat oven to 400F and grease an 8x8 pan with buttter. Pre-brown breadcrumbs in a pan with about a tbl. of butter and drain on paper towels. Trim cauliflower into florets and rinse. Steam cauliflower until just tender.
The cheese sauce is very close to the one I use for my baked mac & cheese. Make a roux in a saucepan by melting 2 tbl. of butter and wisking in 2 tbl. flour. Cook until slightly brown, then slowly incorporate the soy milk by wisking in a little at a time until you have a smooth, creamy béchamel sauce. Add the cheese and stir until melted (some would call this a sauce mornay, but that's traditionally a white cheese sauce). When the sauce is smooth and creamy, stir in salt, pepper, and 1 tsp. mustard.
Colman's is apparently a favorite for cauliflower cheese recipes, but you can use other mustard powders or a even a bit of dijon.
Pour a little of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, put the cauliflower in the dish and pour the remaining sauce over the cauliflower to cover. Top with the breadcrumbs and bake for 20-30 min. until browned and bubbly.
I was a little concerned about serving this as a main to LCBF, so I made a big salad of mixed greens, apple, toasted walnuts, and Gorgonzola dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette to go with it.
It was yummy and satisfying and made me very happy. LCBF didn't quite share my intense enthusiasm, but he did it say it was yummy and did well as a main course with the apple salad (though he did think it would be good with chicken or fish). To which I say . . .
Cauliflower Cheese is Life!
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