Cauliflower Gratin

This recipe is similar to making mac and cheese. The ingredients are something you usually have around the house. You can jazz up this recipe by using Gruyere cheese and Panko bread crumbs on the top. This in itself makes a meal.

Cauliflower Gratin

1-2 heads of cauliflower stemmed and blanched
2 cups white cheese of you choice like Gruyere
2 TBSP flour
2 TBSP butter
1 1/2 cups milk *I use skim
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 to two squirts of yellow mustard
Panko bread crumbs for topping
dash of sea salt for topping also

For this recipe I like to leave the cauliflower in bigger pieces. The blanching cuts down on the cooking time. Blanche for about 10 minutes in boiling water.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan with butter.

The sauce is much like making mac and cheese. First you need to make the butter nice and bubbly in a medium sized sauce pan. Begin to add the flour and begin whisking. Make sure not to burn the flour on the edges of the pan! Once a light brown color, add the milk. Keep stirring with the whisk. Once all the lumps of flour are incorporated begin adding the cheese a little at a time. Keep stirring!

Add the salt, pepper, and mustard. Remove from the heat when the mixture is just below boiling. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower pieces in a baking dish. Cover with Panko bread crumbs and more cheese if you wish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cauliflower are fork tender.