10:37am Thursday 25th February 2010
This is one of my all-time great dishes, it’s the perfect comfort food and can be served all on its own as the perfect TV dinner.
A cauliflower cheese could sit on the table at the poshest of dinner parties and not look out of place and again it would most certainly be warmly welcomed at a family dinner table after school. This serves 4-6.
Ingredients: 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets, leaves and stalk reserved; 1 litre milk; salt and freshly ground black pepper; ½ bayleaf.
60g butter; 60g flour; 100ml double cream; 120g mature cheddar cheese, grated Method: Bring the milk to the boil with the bay leaf and season well. Add the cauliflower florets and leaves and simmer for about 7–8 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander over a bowl to reserve the milk.
Melt the butter in a thick bottomed pan and stir in the flour. Stir on a low heat for about 30 seconds then gradually stir in the hot milk that the cauliflower was cooked in.
I prefer to stir the milk in with a whisk to get a smoother sauce. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every so often and ensuring it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan (a diffuser plate is handy for this). Add the double cream and simmer for a couple of minutes.
The sauce should be of a thick coating consistency by now, if not simmer a little longer and it can be strained through a fine meshed sieve or blended.
Whisk in ¾ of the cheese then re-season if necessary. Ensure the cauliflower is dry, you can use kitchen paper to dry it off.
Mix the cauliflower with half of the sauce and transfer to an oven proof dish then spoon the rest of the sauce over and scatter the rest of the cheese on top.
You can either bake in an oven pre-heated to 220º/Gas mark 7 for about 20–30 minutes until golden, or brown and reheat under a medium to hot grill.
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