Masterchef Cauliflower "mac 'n' Cheese"

Submitted by Chilicat

"Okay, so this doesn't actually have any "mac" in it, but it's still a great dish. This is a slight adaptation of a recipe I found in the June 13, 2011 issue of People. The original was created by the MasterChef winner, Whitney Miller. The only change I made was to use regular milk instead of fat-free. After reading that dairies often add powdered milk to their skim to mask its naturally blue color (yes, Blue!) I just can't endorse the stuff."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 8 cups cauliflower florets (1 head)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups milk
• 1 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F Toss florets in oil on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoons pepper. Roast until fork-tender and lightly browned, 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Reduce oven to 350°F.
2. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute (I cooked mine for a few more minutes to a toasty brown). Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Whisk in cream and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoons pepper and all but 2 tablespoons of cheese. Stir over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. (I didn't even turn my flame back on, just stirred until the cheese melted from the residual heat.).
4. Place cauliflower in an 8x8-in. glass baking dish or 4 10-oz. ramekins. Pour cheese sauce on top. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese. Bake until sauce is bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.

Reviews

[wedrinkteaere]

This is a fabulous recipe! My family had their doubts....they thought I was crazy to make a dish like this. The kids were the first to try and LOVED it so much they begged to eat it all before dad got home from work. We saved the pan for him to dig into. When he arrived home, bone tired, he didn't have the energy to cook something else, so he reluctantly served this up on his plate. He ate every bite and told me it was lovely and to make it anytime. SCORE :)<br/><br/>I changed up a few things. I added pasta to it. I upped the amount of cream so it would not dry up due to the pasta being added. I added a little onion and garlic to the roux for some added taste. I added a TBL of dijon mustard, a pinch of cayenne, 2 cups of milk instead of the specified, I made a mix of cheeses....parmesan, mild cheddar and a larger amount of the sharp. Basically, I used this recipe and another chef's recipe and "blended" them together with fabulous results. THANK YOU for posting - YUM!

 

[Kristen B.]

I saw this recipe in Whitney's cookbook the other day and made it at home. My husband liked it so much that he said he'd rather eat this than macaroni and cheese from now on! Great way to cook cauliflower. Thanks for posting.