Cauliflower Cheese

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Cauliflower Cheese

This is a recipe for Cauliflower Cheese.

This is the first time I have attempted a dedicated recipe lens, so please bear with me, Ok?

I grew up with a Mother who told me what I liked and what I didn't like. So through my entire childhood I believed I didn't like cheese, mushrooms, curry, any foreign food actually and a whole variety of other things too.

So, thinking I didn't like them, I didn't even try them. Not until I married and my ex Mother-In-Law would hold a spoon of whatever to my mouth and say 'Taste it before you tell me you don't like it' so I did taste... and I did like.

Strange thing is, most of those foods are now my favourites! My Mother-In-Law taught me more about food and cooking than my own Mother did and this is one dish I can now do blindfolded and I always enjoy.

I also cook it whenever my Dad comes to dinner as he loves it but never gets it at home as my Mum refuses to make it.

I am not an organised cook. I grab things in order of needing them and then realise I probably haven't got half the ingredients so I improvise a lot.

I'll give you the precise quantities in the recipe but to be honest, I've now made this so many times I can gauge how much to put in the pan without the need to weigh or measure anything.

The recipe includes making a Roux sauce. Some people panic when they think of making sauces this way but trust me, it's simple.

The photographs aren't quite as sharp as I would've liked but trying to take pics and cook when you're alone is quite an art! Maybe I can gradually replace them if someone else joins me in the kitchen and can do the photographs for me.

I hope you enjoy making Cauliflower Cheese with me!

"It is obligatory to scrape the pan out after pouring the sauce onto the cauliflower... YUMMY!"

The Recipe 

1 Meduim Cauliflower

300ml (½ pint) Milk ( I use skimmed milk )

110g (4oz) Cheddar Cheese

3 tbsp Plain Flour

50g (2oz) Butter

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Optional additions;
½ tsp Mustard
Nutmeg

 

Take one medium sized fresh cauliflower

 

Cut away the outside leaves and remove the stalk.

You want to have bite size florets for this dish. I also use some of the most inner leaves. Other people discard them.

Thoroughly rinse the cauliflower.

The outer leaves can be used for soups or stocks... mine go to my daughter's rabbit.

 

Place cauliflower in a pan of boiling water and cook for approx ten minutes. I don't salt the water as the sauce can be salty but it's a personal choice so you can add salt if you wish.

 

Grate your cheese. Sometimes, if I'm rushing, I thinly slice it. It has the same effect.

 

Place your butter into a pan and let it melt.

 

Once the butter has melted, add the flour stirring all the while to prevent any lumps forming.

Let this cook for 2 minutes to allow the flour to burst? Or something scientific like that anyway ;)

 

When you've added the flour and mixed it into the butter, this is what it should look like.

 

Now, here's what some people think is the tricky part. Adding the milk. Big tip... remove the pan from the heat when you add the milk. This will prevent any lumps forming... hopefully!

Add the milk a little at a time. Return it to the heat each time to thicken slightly before adding the next amount. Having said that, it works just as well if you add it all at once. Well, most of the time it does!

Tip!

Make sure to remove the sauce from the heat when adding the milk. This will prevent lumps forming.

 

Meanwhile, strain the cauliflower. I save the stock for the gravy but it could also be used in soups.

 

Your sauce should now be nicely thickened and slowly beginning to bubble.

 

Add most of the grated cheese bit by bit stirring well in between. You want this to melt into the sauce. Keep a small amount of cheese back for the topping.

You can also now season the sauce. If you want, you can season before adding the cheese. I only use black pepper as I find the cheese is salty enough so I don't add more salt, but again, it's personal choice.

You can also add mustard or nutmeg at this point if you want to give it a different flavour.

 

Place the strained cauliflower into an oven proof dish

 

Pour over the cheese sauce over the cauliflower. Then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top

 

Place dish into the centre of a medium hot oven to brown. Some people put the dish under the grill.

If you have a large Cauliflower, make a larger quantity of sauce!

So What Do I Serve It With Deb? 

I love eating this with roast dinners. It goes best with Chicken or pork I think but it's just as enjoyable with roast beef.

It's also good with pork chops.

Some families would have this as a main dish.

"You see the burnt crust left around the dish after it's been cooked? That part tastes delicious..."

 

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Do You Like Leeks?

You can use the same sauce to cook with leeks. Do exactly the same as above, but with leeks. You can also wrap the leeks in ham before adding the sauce... yummy!

Join Me On Tagfoot 

 

"I freeze down any that I don't eat straight away. Just defrost then reheat in the microwave"

A Variation From Rewards4Life 

I hope you don't mind me posting my sauce idea on your thread. It just so little and it changes a lot. (I'm watching too much of the Great British Menu lately =)

Anyway, the only difference in my recipe is garlic and dried herb (any herb you like, really). I'm adding it before flour to the butter, leave for a minute and then prepare the rest as normal. The taste it's knocking my out!

I hope you will like it as well.

Marta

Chicory With Bacon And Cheese 

Recipe kindly shared with us by 'Lovely' from Tagfoot

Ingredients

Some heads of chicory
(Most of the time I use about 6 heads. If they are rather large I cut them in two after they have been boiled)
The same number of slices of cooked ham
Butter
Flour
Milk
Cheese
Salt and pepper

Grate the cheese.
Place the chicory in a pan of boiling water and cook for approx 8 a 10 minutes. It doesn't have to be well-done.
Wrap them in the slices of ham and put into a heatproof dish.
make the cheese sauce just like in the Cauliflower Cheese recipe, but most of the time I also add some salt and pepper to this sauce.
Pour the cheese sauce over the chicory and sprinkle some additional cheese on top of it
Put the dish into the centre of an oven until it's bubbling and looks somewhat brown.

THANK YOU LOVELY!

Let Me Know How I Did! 

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  • Reply
    Ramkitten Ramkitten Oct 14, 2009 @ 6:48 pm
    I need to bring a side dish to Thanksgiving dinner this year, and I'm thinking this might be just the thing. I doubt I'd duplicate someone else's side dish if I brought this one. I've visited here before, but I remembered it while looking for lenses for possible recipes I'll use for the occasion. I'll feature this one among a number of others on the lens I'm putting together to help me make a decision.
  • Reply
    Rajays Rajays Sep 25, 2009 @ 4:25 am
    This is one if the best instructions on cooking cauliflower cheese I have seen. Great content and excellent use of pics. Blessed by this Squid Angel.
  • Reply
    BarbRad BarbRad Jul 21, 2009 @ 2:22 am
    I really enjoyed this. The pictures were great, and I loved your writing style. I feel like I'm right there in the kitchen with you. Thanks for sharing this and adding the suggestions from others.
  • Reply
    OhMe OhMe Jun 23, 2009 @ 8:44 pm
    I really read every single word because I sure didn't want to miss one bit of this recipe. It sounds and looks wonderful. Great lens.
  • Reply
    Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Jun 6, 2009 @ 4:29 pm
    I have started using Cauliflower instead of pasta in many casseroles. Love this lens, Deb.
  • Reply
    Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda Jun 5, 2009 @ 3:37 pm
    Welcome to the Culinary Favorites From A to Z group. Don't forget to come back and add your lens to the link list so that it will appear on the group page!

    Your page has been blessed by a SquidAngel.
  • Reply
    spirituality spirituality Jun 2, 2009 @ 4:58 am
    Sounds tasty - I do love cauliflower with cheese too (though I don't know this precise recipe) - Blessed by a squidangel :)
  • Reply
    Gandree Gandree Jun 1, 2009 @ 9:38 pm
    I've had cauliflower in cheese but not a sauce like this. It looks delicious. I'm going to have to try it.
  • Reply
    CleanerLife CleanerLife Jun 1, 2009 @ 8:42 am
    Very tasty looking! I have broccoli with cheese often, but don't make it the way you made the cauliflower. I'm going to have to try your recipe (I'm always at a loss when thinking of ways to prepare cauliflower), and then see if I can make it with broccoli, too!
  • Reply
    puzzlemaker puzzlemaker May 29, 2009 @ 8:41 pm
    Boy this looks really good. Gotta try it.
  • Reply
    flighty02 flighty02 May 28, 2009 @ 3:32 am
    A very tasty lens, I like that you are using the cauliflower leaves as well as the head, too many people discard them in my opinion. Cauliflower cheese makes a great accompaniment to a roast dinner so lensrolled to my Yorkshire Pudding lens! :)
  • Reply
    nightbear nightbear May 27, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
    What a wonderful lens. It has that homey feel like I am right there in the kitchen with you. I love cauliflower, and this recipe looks wonderful. Thanks
  • Reply
    JustBon-Crochet-Designs JustBon-Crochet-Designs May 27, 2009 @ 9:00 am
    So glad I found your lens, Deb. I can now attempt to make something for Rich which he was so used to having growing up. Great instructions and your pics are just fine ;) 5*s.
  • Reply
    aj2008 aj2008 May 26, 2009 @ 5:05 pm
    Hey I just love recipe lenses that have original comments and content and your own pics. Blessings to your cauliflowers m'dear - oooo er Misses!
  • Reply
    Pastiche Pastiche May 26, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
    YUM - I make it with cheese sauce from scratch, but I never tried browning it. I must do that soon. My mum said "You must try everything on your plate" - we had plenty of variety in our foods. All 6 of us learned to love cauliflower, brocolli and almost all veggies as children - my own 2 are also adventurous eaters. Thanks for this recipe - cheese always makes everything so delish.
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by debnet

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I live in the south of England & work in education. I'm busy juggling working full time with a busy online social life.
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