As midweek suppers go, this is a thrifty and nutritious triumph. Just watch the kids demolish it
A bechamel sauce is one of the very first things I ever learned to make on my own in the kitchen. Countless used saucepans piled high, testament to lumps and determination. Making a good white sauce is essential; so versatile, it flatters many ingredients and children love the mild creamy unctuousness of it.
There's nothing like a whole cauliflower, smothered and baked in a bechamel sauce, enriched with good cheese and a spoonful of dijon. As midweek suppers go, cauliflower cheese is a thrifty and nutritious triumph. Serve it at Sunday lunch alongside a roast chicken or some roast pork and it's a terrific side dish.
There's no chance my children would eat plain boiled cauliflower solo, but they will happily eat cauliflower cheese – wielding a bottle of Lea & Perrins to splosh about – and under a blanket of cheesy sauce, great big florets of the stuff are demolished. Try adding bacon, broccoli, almonds, breadcrumbs, grainy mustard, ham hock pieces or white beans.
*Serves 4*
*1 medium cauliflower (approx 450g)*
*55g butter*
*55g plain flour*
*1 level tsp Dijon mustard*
*Large pinch salt*
*1 pint milk (if you warm the milk it is easier to whisk into the butter and flour but not vital)*
*80g cheddar cheese or similar, grated plus extra for sprinkling on top*
Heat the oven to 200C/395F/Gas 7
Remove the green outer leaves from the cauliflower, cut a deep cross in the bottom of the stem and steam whole over a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Remove the cauliflower from the heat and leave to cool. The cauliflower should not be cooked thoroughly, just lightly steamed and beginning to soften.
Place the butter and flour into a large saucepan. Over a low heat, stir the butter and flour until the butter has melted and the flour is incorporated. Add the salt and mustard and continue stirring for 2 minutes. This is to cook out the floury taste and soften the starch grains in the flour to make your sauce thick.
Turn the heat up to medium, add the milk in one go and whisk furiously until a smooth sauce is formed. Continue stirring until the sauce is thickened and glossy (about 5 minutes). If the sauce is very thick, add a little more milk. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.
Break the cauliflower florets from the thick, central stalk into smaller florets.
Place the florets in a baking dish large enough to hold them all in one layer.
Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower ensuring all the florets are covered. Sprinkle with extra grated cheese.
Bake in the hot oven for approximately 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and golden brown on the top.
• Follow Claire Thomson on Twitter or get more recipes at 5oclockapron.com Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.
A bechamel sauce is one of the very first things I ever learned to make on my own in the kitchen. Countless used saucepans piled high, testament to lumps and determination. Making a good white sauce is essential; so versatile, it flatters many ingredients and children love the mild creamy unctuousness of it.
There's nothing like a whole cauliflower, smothered and baked in a bechamel sauce, enriched with good cheese and a spoonful of dijon. As midweek suppers go, cauliflower cheese is a thrifty and nutritious triumph. Serve it at Sunday lunch alongside a roast chicken or some roast pork and it's a terrific side dish.
There's no chance my children would eat plain boiled cauliflower solo, but they will happily eat cauliflower cheese – wielding a bottle of Lea & Perrins to splosh about – and under a blanket of cheesy sauce, great big florets of the stuff are demolished. Try adding bacon, broccoli, almonds, breadcrumbs, grainy mustard, ham hock pieces or white beans.
*Serves 4*
*1 medium cauliflower (approx 450g)*
*55g butter*
*55g plain flour*
*1 level tsp Dijon mustard*
*Large pinch salt*
*1 pint milk (if you warm the milk it is easier to whisk into the butter and flour but not vital)*
*80g cheddar cheese or similar, grated plus extra for sprinkling on top*
Heat the oven to 200C/395F/Gas 7
Remove the green outer leaves from the cauliflower, cut a deep cross in the bottom of the stem and steam whole over a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Remove the cauliflower from the heat and leave to cool. The cauliflower should not be cooked thoroughly, just lightly steamed and beginning to soften.
Place the butter and flour into a large saucepan. Over a low heat, stir the butter and flour until the butter has melted and the flour is incorporated. Add the salt and mustard and continue stirring for 2 minutes. This is to cook out the floury taste and soften the starch grains in the flour to make your sauce thick.
Turn the heat up to medium, add the milk in one go and whisk furiously until a smooth sauce is formed. Continue stirring until the sauce is thickened and glossy (about 5 minutes). If the sauce is very thick, add a little more milk. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.
Break the cauliflower florets from the thick, central stalk into smaller florets.
Place the florets in a baking dish large enough to hold them all in one layer.
Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower ensuring all the florets are covered. Sprinkle with extra grated cheese.
Bake in the hot oven for approximately 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and golden brown on the top.
• Follow Claire Thomson on Twitter or get more recipes at 5oclockapron.com Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.