Cauliflower and Smoked Cheese Gratin
OK, you got me, this is cauliflower and cheese, but really elevated! I am certainly not above a good cheesy gratin and I would suggest that no one else is either. The inspiration for this came from my sister, who admittedly is not someone who loves the kitchen, but once, at a dinner at her home, she served the family a cauliflower and cheese gratin using smoked gouda because that is what she had in the fridge, and it turned out better than she or any of us could have imagined.
The smokiness from the cheese really makes this a much better take on regular cauliflower and cheese and it will leave people asking if there is bacon in it.
Ingredients 11
1 kg cauliflower, approx. 1 large head
70 g butter
50 g panko breadcrumbs, dried
30 g plain flour (all-purpose flour)
550 ml full-cream milk (whole milk), cold
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp salt
70 g grated parmesan
1 bunch chives, snipped
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
100 g smoked gouda, grated
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Method 9
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cut your into large but even-sized florets.
Boil for 3 minutes, then scoop out of the water and lay them in the gratin dish you will use.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Melt 30 g (1 oz) of the butter in a small saucepan and add the . Mix to combine, then set aside.
Next, make the béchamel sauce. Melt the remaining in a small saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the and cook for about 2 minutes while mixing with a wooden spoon. Gradually add the , then the . Switch to a whisk and whisk the mixture together so you don’t have many lumps, then go back to a wooden spoon and continuously stir the mixture, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so that it doesn’t burn. Once the mixture simmers, it’s done.
Remove and discard the and add the , , , and a few cracks of black pepper. Mix well and taste. It should be well seasoned.
Pour it over the and try to spread it out evenly, then sprinkle the over the top. Season with and pepper and bake for 15 minutes for a fan-forced oven or 20 minutes for a conventional oven.
At this stage, remove it from the oven and sprinkle the on top. Bake for another 15–20 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown.
If it needs more browning beyond this point, put it under the grill (broiler) for a minute or two, but don’t walk away from it; it can burn easily! Serve immediately.
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Notes
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