Cauliflower cheese

 

The Culinary Consultant has been growing both broccoli and cauliflowers this year, and very successfully if I might add. There is just one teeny tiny problem - the cauliflowers were supposed to be three different cultivars which would produce at different times. Nice idea if it would have worked. However, it seems like all the cauliflowers came out all at once. And they don't keep for very long on the plants before they start going green and woody. So we have been having plenty of cauliflower lately. Last week's cauliflower and bean soup is finally gone, and I thought something slightly less healthy tasting would be great for a change, so I made some cauliflower cheese.

Cauliflower cheese:
1 cauliflower
500 ml milk
50 g butter
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
100 g mature cheddar, grated
a few tbsp bread crumbs

The Howto:
Wash the cauliflower and break into pieces. Bring a large saucepan to boil with enough water to cover the cauliflower, and cook for about five minutes. Take off the heat, discard water and rinse with cold water to stop the boiling. 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. In a smaller saucepan bring the milk to a boil. In another saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour and cook for a minute or two, but do not let it brown. Slowly add the milk while whisking vigorously with a balloon whisk to produce a smooth white sauce. Add the mustard, two thirds of the cheese and season to taste. 

Put the cauliflower in an oven proof dish, cover with the sauce and sprinkle the top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbly.

The Verdict:
This certainly didn't taste healthy. It was creamy and cheesy and delicious. The perfect way to indulge in some very unhealthy veg. Does it still count towards your five a day if the veg is smothered in a rich creamy bechamel sauce? I would say it does. The best part was certainly the cheesy and crumbly topping.