It’s been a good year for growing cauliflowers. They taste outstandingly good too, but what to do with them? Here is a recipe for a good old-fashioned cauliflower baked in a silky- smooth cheese sauce.
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Eat this cauliflower cheese just as it is, or with roasted meats or you could add some Baked Sourdough Crumbs or some crisply fried bacon pieces, or spread it on some sourdough or wholemeal toast.
Choosing cauliflower
In their raw state, cauliflowers should be firm, not flabby or bendy. The florets should be creamy white and the leaves perky and pale green. A medium sized cauliflower weighs around 1 kilo.
Cauliflower in Cheese Sauce
For 6-8 as a side dish or 4 as a main dish
I medium cauliflower
500ml milk (the best quality you can find) plus a little extra if necessary
55g best English butter (can be salted or unsalted)
40g of plain flour, or gram flour or pea flour*
150g strong, hard cheese such as Lincolnshire Poacher, grated, or Colston Basset Stilton, crumbled
About ¼ of a whole nutmeg for grating
Sea salt flakes
Black pepper
To prepare the cauliflower
- Cut away the tough outer leaves leaving only the delicate pointy ones curled around the florets. Use a sharp knife to slice about 2cm, the grubby bit, off the base.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then add the prepared cauliflower and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until it is tender. Insert a sharp knife to check for tenderness. Use a colander to drain all the water from the cauliflower.
- Lightly oil an oven-proof dish (approximately 18cm x 25cm or equivalent) and add the drained cauliflower cut into about 8 chunks and set the dish aside while you make the sauce.
For the sauce
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, then add the flour and mix to a smooth paste using a wooden spoon.
- Add the milk, raise the heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Use a small balloon whisk if you have one to prevent lumps forming but, if not, a wooden spoon will have to do. The sauce should be smooth and shiny and the consistency of single cream. If the sauce is too thick, stir in a little more milk to achieve the right consistency. If, despite all the whisking or stirring, you find there are lumps in the sauce, you will need to pass all of it through a sieve, pressing it all through with the help of a wooden spoon, before moving on to the next stage.
- Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer gently for two or three minutes and then remove the pan from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 180c
- Stir in the grated or crumbled cheese and continue to stir until it has melted into the sauce.
- Taste the sauce and, if you think it’s needed, stir in the grated nutmeg, a pinch or two of sea salt flakes and some black pepper. Taste again and adjust the seasoning as necessary until it is just perfect.
- Cover the prepared cauliflower with the sauce.
- Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes or until it is piping hot and starting to brown on the top.
*You can buy these “alternative” flours and many other good things online from Hodmedods at http://www.hodmedods.co.uk
