Cauliflower cheese with parmesan and almonds

They had some really nice cauliflowers in the greengrocer the other day which prompted me to make this cauliflower cheese with a twist. My husband isn’t mad about cooked cheese anyway so I decided to cut the amount of cheese and top it with flaked almonds which I reckoned would go well with cauliflower. (They really do). I think some chopped ham would be nice too if you want to make it more substantial.

The main thing is to use a strong, dryish cheese so you don’t have to use too much and can keep the flavour and texture light. I used some mature Old Winchester which I happened to have after a cheese festival but you’re probably more likely to have parmesan which would be fine. (Frugal cooking is, of course, about using what's in the fridge.)

Serves 2-3 as a supper dish, 4-6 as a vegetable

1 medium-sized cauliflower
30g butter
25g plain flour
350-400ml semi-skimmed milk
25-30g mature Pamesan or Grana Padano or 50g strong hard cheese like Old Winchester, Comté or Cheddar, grated
2 tbsp light cooking oil
50g flaked almonds
Salt and white pepper

Cut the outside leaves off the cauliflower but keep any tender, inner leaves. Cut the florets off the stalk and divide them into even sized clusters. Steam or boil the florets and inner leaves until just tender (about 6-7 minutes), drain and tip into a shallow buttered baking dish.

Melt the butter gently in a small non-stick saucepan, stir in the flour and cook over a low heat for about 30 seconds. Take the pan off the heat and gradually add the milk bit by bit, stirring between each addition. When you’ve added half the milk you can pour most of the rest of the milk in one go, holding back a little to see if you need it.

Bring the sauce to the boil, turn the heat right down and simmer for 5 minutes until thick and smooth. Take off the heat and add most of the cheese. You should be able to taste the cheese but it shouldn’t be overwhelmingly cheesy. Add more if you like then season with salt and white pepper to taste. If the sauce is too thick add the remaining milk or a couple of spoonfuls of the water you’ve used for cooking the cauliflower. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower florets.

Preheat the grill to a medium setting. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the flaked almonds over a low to moderate heat until they begin to colour then sprinkle them over the cauliflower. Place the dish under the grill (not too near the heat) until the almonds are light brown and the sauce starts to bubble.

Do you have any favourite additions to cauliflower cheese or do you prefer the classic version?

Roast cauliflower with coriander and lemon

I'm beginning to realise I have a bit of an obsession with cauliflower. It wasn't that long ago I was blogging about cauliflower cheese and here I am at it again.

The reason was a bargain from Bath Farmers' market - two small, but very fresh cauliflowers for £1.20. I originally thought I'd be really showy and cook them three ways - one roasted, one puréed, Heston-style and a stir-fry from the leaves but in the end I ran out of time and just did roasted cauli and leaves.


Although we had it as a side it was a fairly substantial one and would make a main course dish in its own right. I fancy it with felafel if you wanted to keep it veggie but it could also take a bit of finely chopped anchovy and capers like this version here. I served it hot but you could serve it lukewarm or cold. My husband who, as I've remarked before, is not big on vegetables, actually asked if we could have it again . . .

Roast cauliflower with coriander and lemon
Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side
1 medium or 2 smaller cauliflowers
A good glug of olive oil (probably about 4-5 tbsp)
1-2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed with 1 tsp Maldon sea salt (or 1/2 tsp fine salt)
a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
a good squeeze of lemon
2 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley or coriander (maybe coriander if you use chilli otherwise I prefer parsley)
20g butter
Black and white pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Divide the cauliflower into largeish florets, saving the leaves. Put in a roasting tin with the oil and cook for 15 minutes, turning the florets over half way through. Just before you think it will be ready add the chopped garlic and crushed coriander seeds and chilli flakes if using, mix in and return to the oven for 5-7 minutes or so. Remove from the oven, stir in the parsley or coriander and season with black pepper and a good squeeze of lemon.

While the cauliflower is cooking pick over the leaves, removing the coarser ones and the tough central rib from the larger remaining ones. Simmer with a little water until the water has evaporated. Add the butter and season with salt and white pepper (or black if you don't have any white)

Arrange the leaves on a warm serving dish and spoon over the cauliflower.

Cauliflower cheese with brown butter and onion

One of my favourite pastimes when visiting foodie friends is rooting through their cookery books though I have to admit it's rare to find many I haven't got. But the other day I turned up one called English Country House Cooking by someone of the splendid name of Fortune Stanley. Turns out she - she is a she - wrote in the 70's and has an illustrious background according to this page on the Stanley family tree.

The recipe that caught my eye was a cauliflower cheese with onion which seemed an intriguing addition. I didn't have time to jot it down so made up this version when I got home.

Serves 3 as a light supper, 4 as a vegetable

1 onion
400ml milk
a sprig of thyme
1 medium cauliflower
40g butter
30g plain flour
150g of grated or crumbled cheese (I used half and half Gorwydd Caerphilly and Cheddar which is what I happened to have in the fridge)
Salt and white pepper

Peel and thickly slice the onion and put it in a pan with the milk and thyme. Bring to the boil and leave over a very low heat for the onion to cook but you don't want it to boil.

Meanwhile divide the cauliflower into florets and steam or boil until not quite cooked (about 7-8 minutes). Drain, saving some of the water.

Melt the butter in a non-stick pan and stir in the flour. Cook the roux over a low heat until it it begins to darken in colour and smell nutty. Then tip in the hot milk and onions all at once and stir. It should thicken pretty well immediately - if it's too thick add a splash of the reserved cooking water. Or more milk, if you prefer. Remove the thyme.

Add half the grated cheese and season to taste and tip into an ovenproof dish. Heat the grill, top with the remaining cheese and cook until the top is golden and bubbling.

The effect of the onion was quite interesting, making the cauliflower cheese milder if anything although that could have been the Gorwydd which is quite subtle and delicate. It would have been particularly good with boiled ham or indeed with some bacon or ham in it though I was trying to keep it veggie. (This blog is sometimes too meaty by half).

I didn't take the roux quite as far as I might have done in terms of browning it. I reckon I cooked it for about 3 minutes - I think I'd cook it a minute or so longer next time to get an even nuttier taste. And a little blue cheese might have been interesting. But a nice twist on a family classic.

Thankyou, Fortune, for the inspiration.

Incidentally the surface of the cauli cheese shouldn't look as crinkly if you flash it under the grill. I had to put mine in the top of the Aga which takes an age to brown things. One of the things that drives me nuts about it.

Warm cauliflower, egg and anchovy salad

Here's what I did with half the cauliflower in my veg box. Normally my first thought would be cauliflower cheese but the weather's so warm and balmy I fancied a salad instead.

Serves 2

2 large eggs
1 medium-sized cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced or a small onion, peeled and chopped
1 x 50g tin of anchovy fillets
1 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley + a little extra for decoration
1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Hard boil the eggs for 10 minutes, drain and leave in their shells in cold water. Steam or microwave the cauliflower until just tender (about 7-8 minutes). Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low to moderate heat and fry the spring onions for a couple of minutes until softened. Take off the heat and mix in roughly half the steamed cauliflower. Drain the anchovies (reserving the oil which is good for drizzling over pizzas) and chop half the fillets finely. Shell and chop one of the eggs. Tip the anchovies, eggs, capers and parsley into the cauliflower together with the vinegar, toss together and season lightly with salt and pepper (go easy on the salt because of the anchovies). Tip the salad onto a serving plate or divide between two plates. Shell and quarter the remaining egg and arrange over the salad along with the remaining anchovies. Scatter over a little more parsley and serve with some crusty bread or new potatoes.

If you don't like anchovies or not quite as much as we like them you could save the other half of the tin for topping a pizza or adding to a pasta sauce. The leftover cauliflower will make the base for a curry - as would any leftover potatoes.