Cauliflower Cheese

Cauliflower Cheese

Sally remembers her Mum making this when Sally was a child.   Even those who don't care for cauliflower will love this dish!  Think of this as vegetable Mac & Cheese and you won't be far wrong.  I used a bright orange-yellow cauliflower because our produce co-op had them, and I thought the dish would look better than if I used white or purple cauliflower.

1 head Cauliflower broken/cut into small florets

2 cups Milk

4 Tbsp Flour

4 Tbsp Butter/Margarine

1/2 tsp Dry Mustard (Colemanstm)

Disassemble the head of cauliflower.  Bring it to a boil in a large-ish pot and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove the cauliflower to a strainer. 

Return the pot to the stove, and toss in the butter.

Add the flour to the melted butter.  Stir and cook a couple minutes to kill the floury taste.  Whisking all the while, add the milk and the dry mustard.  Continue whisking until the white sauce starts to boil and thicken.  The add, a bit at a time, the cheese and whisk as it melts into the sauce.  

Put the cooked cauliflower in a baking dish or bowl, and pout the cheese sauce over all. 

Bake @ 375F for 20-30 minutes until browning on the top.

Makes a great vegetarian main course, or a fabulous side to pork (in my case, ribs), beef, or chicken.


Roasted Parsnips Beets and Apples
Apples?  Yes, roasted apples.  We had parsnips and golden beets that I was going to roast, and I saw that a similar recipe included apple slices in the roasting.  They make a great splash of sweetness in what could be a bland dish.  Try to get everything cut into about the same sized pieces.  That way it will all get done at approximately the same time.

3 medium-to-large Parsnips, peeled and chopped
4 Golden Beets (red beets would work too but things get all red), peeled and chopped
1 large Honeycrisp Apple, sliced into wedges
1-2 tsp Thyme or Tarragon or some of each
1-2 Tbsp EVOO or Ghee
2 oz Goat Cheese crumbles
1/4 cup toasted Pecans

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

Toss the veggies and spice(s) with the EVOO or melted Ghee.  Lay them out on a foil covered baking sheet.  The foil makes cleanup a snap.

Ghee is an Indian thing -- clarified melted butter -- with all the sediment removed.  In the fridge it's hard like lard, and when melted it's a clear liquid.  Not easy to find unless you have an Indian market around where you live.  I was gifted a jar by my foodie friend Sara Peterson.

Roast the veggies for about 45 minutes.  In the last 5-10 minutes  add the pecans in a separate container, to the oven to toast.  Switch your oven to broil, and cook another 10 minutes or so, turning the veggies at least once, until things start to get nicely browned.

Put the veggies in a serving bowl, top with dabs or crumbles of cheese and the nuts.

Serve hot as a main course or side.  As a main course, this is really very filling; the batch given above will serve 4 as a main!