Community Pick
Traditional English Cheddar Cauliflower Cheese - Gratin
photo by Jonathan Melendez
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower
- 300 ml milk
- 220 g Mature cheddar cheese, finely grated
- 3 tablespoons plain flour
- 50 g butter
- 25 g fresh breadcrumbs (optional)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried English mustard (Colman's)
- nutmeg
- salt and black pepper
directions
- *If oven baking, pre-heat oven to 225C or 450°F.
- Trim the cauliflower & break into small florets.
- Boil in salted water for 10-15 minutes or until just tender.
- Drain in a colander and then place in a buttered ovenproof baking dish.
- Add the milk, flour and butter to a saucepan.
- Heat and whisking with a wire whisk continuously until the sauce thickens, boils and is smooth.
- Allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes.
- Add three-quarters of the grated cheese, mustard, a pinch of nutmeg and seasoning.
- Cook for further minute stirring well.
- Pour the sauce over the cauliflower.
- Mix the remaining cheese, and breadcrumbs, if using, together, sprinkle over the top.
- Place under a hot grill until golden brown, OR, bake in a pre-heated oven 225C/450F for about 15 to 25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
- Serve immediately.
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Reviews
-
Excellent! Everyone to whom I served it loves this: a great change of pace from macaroni and cheese - and healthier! THREE notes: ONE: for slightly-crunchy, non-mushy, cauliflower, put the raw pieces in a bowl while the water in your pot heats to a good boil. Then add the pieces, boil for only 10 minutes, and drain into a colander. If you're not going to add the sauce and eat immediately (without baking), rinse or soak the hot cauliflower in cold water to stop the cooking. Then, toss with the hot sauce and place in a buttered baking dish, with any desired topping, set aside, then later bake as directed in the recipe. TWO: For those who have never made a bechamel sauce (butter, flour, milk) as in step 5, I suggest melting the butter alone in the saucepan, adding the flour and stirring it into a paste over low heat for 2 min. to get rid of the raw flour taste, then slowly adding milk while stirring with a fork, and the flour-butter (roux) will readily dissolve into the milk. THREE: My broken up raw cauliflower filled up a 3-qt pot and I'm guessing the sauce could have been stretched for up 50% more.
-
Great recipe! DH Loves it and it makes a nice veg-based starch. I make it often with good aged cheddar and Colman's mustard. I use 1 1/4 cups of milk and 2 cups of sharp cheddar, 3 Tbs butter and flour, 1/4 cup bread crumbs (the conversion function on this site is terrible, so this is for future reference :) Thanks French Tart, your recipes are all FAB!
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Tweaks
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I love how easy to make this is, and the outcome was delicious.<br/><br/>I modified it to my specifications, as I tend to like it extra cheesy. :) Some Stilton, extra old cheddar, monterey jack, and parmesan cheese. I also used actual hot mustard instead of powder, and paprika instead of nutmeg. I also added several crushed garlic gloves, and some diced onions.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p>
<p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA & Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature & Art History teacher & lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband & my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p>
<p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p>
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<p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p>
<p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p>
<p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p>
<p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p>
<p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting & drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts & festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French & North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband & I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food & Wine Breaks, French Antiques & Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued & restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region & it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac & Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough & York, to visit our family & friends. We also love indulging in dining out when we are there, in a wide variety of EXCELLENT Gastro-Pubs that we have in North Yorkshire; and popping in to have a Pint of REAL ENGLISH ALE in our local pub is a always a must!! <br /></span></strong></p>
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