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Cauliflower Cheese bake

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with beans

Cauliflower, what a wonderful ingredient, if treated with love! Here it will be par-boiled then baked. I'm not a fan of boiled watery cauli' with a meal as I find it a little tasteless. But bake in cheese sauce, add beans, and I'll be first in the queue :¬P

To make this totally vegetarian just leave out the bacon, or try substituting with one of the many meat-free bacon products out there. I'd love to hear how that worked out for you so drop me a line and let me know @: nutty@nuttyskitchen.co.uk

Click the Method tab below to see a step by step guide with pictures.

cauli cheese ready

ingredients

Here's what you need :¬)

serves 4

    for the cheese sauce

  • 50g butter
  • 50g flour
  • Pinch of Salt & black pepper
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp English mustard powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 OXO vegetable stock cube
  • 100g extra mature (No. 6 strength) cheddar cheese
  • 50g extra cheese for topping
  • 1 pint of whole or semi-skimmed milk

    for the rest of the dish

  • 1 large cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 1 Tblsp salt
  • cauliflower leaves
  • Dash of oil
  • Knob of butter
  • 3 rashers of thick smoked bacon cut into lardons
  • 1 med red onion quartered & sliced
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic sliced
  • 6 chestnut mushrooms sliced
  • 1 med tomato cut into 8 wedges
  • 1 tin baked beans

method

This dish could easily be totally vegetarian but if you like smoked bacon (as it is added raw) the bacon juices permeate the topping (yummy) Serve with a warm crusty bagette with lashings of butter and a dash of worchester sauce if it takes your fancy. I buy bake at home bagettes as life is to short to make one ;¬) If you try this and want another option, try this: 'Frankfurter Sausage Cauliflower Cheese' is a winner with the kids.

    If you don't want to scroll through how to make the cheese sauce, click the button to jump to the method for the main part of the dish.

  • jump to main dish

    make the cheese sauce

  1. Melt the butter in a small - med pan
  2. Add all the flour
  3. Add the onion powder with the English & Dijon mustard
  4. Stir with a whisk or spoon to make a roux
make the roux
roux in pan
  1. Add a little milk at a time while whisking

Don't worry about the lumps, keep stirring and whisking as you add the milk and they will melt into the sauce

  1. Stir continuously to form a thick white sauce
white sauce
white sauce in pan
  1. When thickened, it should coat the back of a spoon
  2. Turn the heat off
  3. Add the cheese
grated cheese
grated cheese
  1. Stir until the cheese has melted
cheese sauce
cheese sauce in pan
cover and set aside

make the cauli' cheese bake

  1. Put the cauli' florets in a large pan
  2. Cover with water & add 1 Tblsp salt
  3. Bring to the boil & simmer for 5mins until just cooked
  4. Add the cauliflower leaves for 1 min
  5. Drain & immerse in ice-cold water
  6. Drain well when stone-cold
  7. Put onions into a microwave proof dish
  8. Sprinkle with salt & a dash if oil
  9. Microwave on full power for 2 min
  10. Mix the hot onions with the mushrooms & garlic
mushrooms & onions
  1. Add a knob of butter & set aside
  2. Tip the beans into an oven proof dish / tin
  3. Place the cauliflower florets onto the beans
work from the edges inward
  1. Spoon half of the cheese sauce over the top
Add some cheese sauce
  1. Cover with the cauliflower leaves
cover with cauli' leaves
  1. Spoon over the rest of the cheese sauce
cover with the rest of the cheese sauce
  1. Cover with the onion & mushrooms
add onions & mushrooms
  1. Sprinkle with bacon lardons
  2. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese over the top
  3. Decorate with tomato wedges
add tomato wedges

Cooking time temp: Roast in the oven @180c for about 45 minutes, or until the top is nicely toasted and the center hot. A sharp knife should easily go through the cauliflower stem with ease. The reason the timing can not be exact is every cauliflower is different, some have a more open florets and no two are exact-in-size / weight

Cauli' Cheese, Beans & Bacon
cauli cheese ready