CAULIFLOWER AND THREE CHEESE GRATIN

I have always been into the accompaniments to a roast rather than the meat itself. When I was growing up I loved the Yorkshire puddings when we had roast beef, the bacon wrapped sausages that came with roast chicken, the crackling from the roast pork and then we always had cauliflower cheese when we had roast lamb. 

I found this cauliflower cheese recipe in my latest olive magazine and thought I should test drive it as a potential Christmas dish. It took about an hour however you can make it a day or two before and then just cook it for 25/30 minutes before serving to heat through.

Ingredients for 8 people:

8 small individual cauliflower heads

Olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

3 bay leaves

20g butter

20g plain flour

1 tsp English mustard powder

350l semi skimmed milk

200ml double cream

100g Gruyere cheese, grated

100g emmental, grated (I actually used cheddar)

100g Parmesan, grated

A good grating of nutmeg

White pepper

Heat the oven to 200 C / 180 C fan / gas mark 6.

Boil the cauliflower heads in a large pan of salted boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain well and leave to steam dry for a few minutes.

Arrange the heads in a baking dish, brush with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

Whilst these are cooking, put the onions, bay leaves and butter in a saucepan with a little salt and fry gently until soft and golden.

Stir in the flour and mustard powder until no dusty bits remain.

Gradually stir in the milk to make a smooth sauce and then slowly stir in the cream until heated through.

Take off the heat and add 2/3 of the cheeses and stir until they have melted. Season with some nutmeg, white pepper and salt. If necessary, put the saucepan back on a low heat for the cheese to melt completely.

Pour over the cauliflower heads and chill for up to two days, if you like. Sprinkle the gratin with the remaining cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and golden on top.

We served ours with some roast pork belly and it was heavenly!

I do not like to blow my own trumpet but this was incredible - the best cauliflower cheese I have ever had - probably due to the copious amounts of cheese! I enjoyed it so much I could have eaten it as a main dish although it obviously worked brilliantly as a side. I will definitely be making this again at Christmas.

Read More..

Cauliflower and Spinach Risotto

Have you ever had risotto?  Risotto is one of those dishes that I used to only be able to get at restaurants and would roll my eyes in ecstasy when I saw it on the menu.  Still to this day, my favorite dish at a restaurant ever is a Brasilian risotto at Kevin and my favorite restaurant near our college town.  We actually went there for our first date (4 years ago, today happens to be our 4 year dating anniversary :)).

Until recently, the fancy name and decadent nature of a risotto had me resigned to think of it as a restaurant only food.  No more!  In Jill Nussinows amazing pressure cooking cookbook, The New Fast Food, she walks you through how perfectly easy and delicious making risotto at home can be.

To make the recipe below, I adapted her Basic Risotto recipe (page 53) to include cauliflower "rice", some of my favorite spices, and some frozen spinach (as she recommends on page 54).  I included cauliflower "rice" in this recipe 1.) to cut down on calories (aka so I can eat more of it), and 2.) to use up some cauliflower I had had in my fridge since last week.

Lately, I have been getting most of my produce from Costco, as I discussed in this post.  So, when I pick a veggie to eat, I generally need to commit to it, as they come in larger quantities from Costco.  I had had some steamed cauliflower for dinner the other day, but other than that, the cauliflower in my fridge wasnt calling my name, UNTIL, I remembered you can make "rice" with cauliflower!  I may not be into eating a full cup or so of cauliflower florets this week, but I can get onboard with "rice"!

This recipe is more strictly a Pressure Cooker recipe, as I have never made risotto without my IP.  If you give it a shot on the stovetop, please let me know how it goes and what times it took everything to cook!

Cauliflower and Spinach Risotto
Pressure Cooker Time: 5 minute prep, 5 minutes at pressure, quick release
Servings: 4 servings

 Ingredients:
        1/2 onion, finely chopped
        3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
        4 cups vegetable broth
        1+1/2 cup arborio rice
        1 tsp dried basil
        1/2 tsp dried parsley
        1/4 tsp white pepper (optional)

        2 cups uncooked "riced" cauliflower (directions here)
        1/2 cup water

        1-10oz package frozen spinach, defrosted and liquid squeezed out
        lemon juice and nutritional yeast to garnish

Instructions:
1.)  In a heated pressure cooker, saute the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, adding small amounts of water to prevent burning.
2.)  Add in the vegetable broth, arborio rice, and spices.  Lock the lid in place and cook at high pressure for 3 minutes.
3.)  Quick release the pressure.
4.)  After the pressure has been release, take care to remove the lid, then stir in the "riced" cauliflower and additional 1/2 cup water.
5.)  Lock the lid in place again and cook at high pressure for 2 additional minutes.
6.)  Quick release the pressure.
7.)  Remove the lid and stir in the spinach.  Season with black pepper and lemon juice to taste.  Serve hot with some nutritional yeast sprinkled on top.

Amys Notes:
For this recipe, the type of rice is very important!  Arborio rice is particularly for risotto, so traditional brown rice varieties wont work, at least not with the amount of time I suggested.

Once the recipe was done, I was super surprised not to taste the cauliflower at all.  I know it is there, but if I didnt make it, I wouldnt have known.  Yay for hidden veggies!

Health and Happiness,

Amy

Read More..