Golden Cauliflower Cheese
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and Food Network Kitchen.
Boiled cauliflower florets baked in a mustard-spiked Cheddar sauce with more cheese on top until deep golden.
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Method
- 1
Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan) and butter the baking dish.
- 2
Boil the cauliflower. Bring the water and salt to the boil and cook the florets for 4-5 min, until a knife meets just a little resistance. Drain and leave them in the colander for a few minutes so the steam escapes; wet florets would thin the sauce. Arrange them rounded side up in the dish.
- 3
Make the white sauce. Melt the 40 g butter in the medium pan over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook 2 min without letting it colour. Off the heat, whisk in the milk a little at a time, then bring to the boil, whisking, and simmer for 5 min. Cooking the flour fully removes its raw taste and gives a smooth, thick sauce.
- 4
Add the cheese. Take the sauce off the heat and whisk in the mustard powder, cayenne, nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt and the 150 g Cheddar until melted and glossy. Keeping it off the heat stops the cheese turning stringy or greasy.
- 5
Bake until golden. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, scatter over the 40 g Cheddar and bake for 20-25 min, until bubbling at the edges and deep golden on top. Rest for 5 min so the sauce settles before serving.
Storage
Refrigerate covered up to 3 days. Reheat in a 180 °C (160 °C fan) oven, covered, for about 20 min until piping hot (74 °C). Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- large saucepan
- colander
- medium saucepan
- balloon whisk
- 1500 ml oval baking dish
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 291 kcal |
| Protein | 13.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 15.6 g |
| of which sugars | 6.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 20.2 g |
| of which saturates | 11.8 g |
| Fibre | 2.7 g |
| Salt | 1.67 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
4.6 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
