We only have 2 winter squash left in the cave so we have to / get to buy vegetables.
I admit, I’m almost like the proverbial ‘kid in a candy shop’ as I look at all the wonderful winter vegetables at the market.
I really like it that my potager provides us with our vegetables for most of the year.
I also really like the ‘off season’.
Sad to say, I get excited buying a cauliflower or a cabbage or a rutabaga.
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As this is such a popular dish in England, I decided to use a proper Cheddar for it. Your favorite cheese will work, but maybe not for the bright gold color.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1/3 – 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 tsp butter
- 2 tsp flour
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) milk
- 3 tbs (0.75oz, 25gr) shredded cheese, preferably cheddar
Instructions
- Put cauliflower into a steamer basket in a saucepan with an inch of water.
- Put on medium heat and steam for 10 minutes or just until barely tender.
- Remove from pan and keep warm.
- In same pan, if not too large, or a small saucepan, melt butter.
- Add flour and cook, stirring with a whisk or fork (making a roux).
- Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until you have a thick sauce (Béchamel).
- Stir in cheese and heat until bubbly.
- Pour over cauliflower and serve.
- Note: Can be kept warm in a low oven (250F, 125C) for 10 – 15 minutes.
Notes
The flour in the béchamel helps the cheese to melt into a velvety sauce without getting stringy.
Can easily be doubled or tripled.
To be really ‘proper’ warm the milk with a bit of onion and a bay leaf before adding to the roux.
Prefer an oven finish: Easy Cauliflower Gratin
It is often said the England and The U.S. are 2 countries divided by a common language.
I initially thought that it was nouns that caused the most confusion: mackintosh v raincoat, boot v trunk, etc.
I was wrong.
It’s grammar and sentence construction that continue to befuddle me.
‘Stop at mine’ v ‘Come to my place’, ‘My team are winning’ v My team is winning’.
In the U.S. this dish would be called Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce. I decided to give it the British name since I got the recipe from our British friend in Spain.
Cauliflower Cheese – not to be confused with Cauliflower Rice.
I don’t anymore because the last of my Brit influence died with my father over 20 years ago, but I used to speak with more of a Brit phrasing than I do now. Some things, I still do, but it’s mostly disappeared. I think because I wasn’t raised there plays a big part in it. It was second hand for me, but you’re more right than wrong in your guess.
And only 3 tbs?? 😉
It’s only 4oz of milk….
My Brit friend and I discussed the differences at length. Sometimes I was right; sometimes he was. Neither of us changed, tho
Cauliflower with cheese sauce is wonderful! We also really like oven roasted cauliflower sans cheese sauce.
re: “Sad to say, I get excited buying a cauliflower”: That’s not sad at all! I get very very excited when I see decent cauliflower at the market. (It’s usually in October that really good cauliflower appears here.)
Right now, even though cauliflower is supposedly on sale right now (at $4 a small head, I wouldn’t call that “on sale”), it has clearly travelled quite a distance. We will have to wait.
Happily, bunches of rapini are beautiful and not quite so astronomically priced. Cabbage is good too. (I confess I haven’t looked at the rutabagas. They’re not my favourite… too much like sad poor bitter cousins to winter squash.)