Presented by David Hawksworth
Baked cauliflower with white cheese sauce is a standard of British comfort food.
Back in the UK, my English grandmother taught it to my mother. Then, when my mother moved to Canada, she added the Canadian twist of mac ‘n cheese to the dish and made it into a comfort food double-header. On a cold rainy day nothing beats this combination of cauliflower, pasta and rich cheese sauce with a kick of Worcestershire. To this day the smell of it baking in the oven transports me right back to childhood – arriving home from soccer practice cold and wet, waiting for my mom to serve me dinner. Watching – and sometimes, helping – my nan and mom transform these basic ingredients into a tasty bowl of food was a big part of what got me interested in cooking in the first place. Nowadays my eight-year old son Heston is the one coming home hungry, cold and wet from soccer practice. When I make it with him, we swap the original sharp English cheddar for gruyère – his favourite cheese. If one day Heston has kids of his own, I hope he’ll pass on the recipe, too.
– David Hawksworth.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 small onion, peeled
- 2 cloves
- Salt
- 1 small (or ½ large) head cauliflower, cut into 1” (2 cm) florets
- 1½ cups (350mL) elbow macaroni
- 3 cups (750 mL) milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tbsp (45 mL) butter
- 3 tbsp (45 mL) flour
- 1½ cups (350 mL) grated gruyere
- 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tsp (10 mL) minced chives
- 2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon mustard
- 1 splash Worcestershire sauce
- 1 generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- White pepper
METHODMakes
4 Servings
Preheat oven to 425°F (225°C).
Filling
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook cauliflower florets for two minutes, then remove with a spider or strainer, shock in a bath of ice water, and set aside. In the same pot of boiling water, cook macaroni until al dente, drain and set aside.
Sauce
Stud the onion with the cloves, and place in a medium saucepan. Add milk and bay leaf, place on low heat, and simmer for five minutes. Let steep. Heat another medium saucepan on low, melt butter and then stir in the flour. Cook for two minutes, stirring periodically. Remove onion and bay leaf from the hot milk and discard. Add the milk gradually to the flour and-butter roux while whisking vigorously. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in two-thirds of the cheese, and then pass the sauce through a strainer into a fresh pot.
To finish
Put strained sauce on low heat. Add the cherry tomatoes, chives and mustard and stir well. Add Worcestershire, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Drain the cauliflower and combine with the macaroni in a baking dish. Pour sauce over top, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake until brown and bubbling—about 20 minutes. Enjoy at once.
THE TOOLS
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