How do you make cauliflower cheese quick?

mrbadexample

I actually had cauliflower cheese tonight.

Not only can I now cook a portion for one, rather than 12, I've even tweaked it a bit. :cool:

I buy catering bacon offcuts from Morrisons. 0.545kg for £1.30. :money: I fry a handful (for one portion) until they are crisp. Place on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

Then I start to make the cheese sauce. Big nob of butter into a saucepan. Then add some finely-chopped onion, a clove of garlic, and for the adventurous, a little chopped chilli. I put four in tonight, seeds and all (very small chillies, homegrown ). When the onion is soft, then add the flour. Stir, and it forms a paste; then start adding the milk, a little at a time. Add the milk, then stir like mad. As the flour cooks, the sauce will thicken, so add a bit more milk. Keep doing that until you get the consistency you're after.

Then start stirring in the cheese. I used to just use one type of cheese, but it's even better with a few. You can use all the odds and ends in the fridge, and it'll be beautiful. Today I used Red Leicester for a bit of colour, an odd heel of brie, and some blue Cambozola. Any blue cheese imparts a fabulous flavour, and you only need a little. I forgot to add the mustard powder (again! :mad: ), but it didn't really matter.

Put the cauli on. Nice big bits, and just give it 5 minutes or so, so it's really crunchy. Soggy or soft cauliflower does the dish no favours. Depending how much cauli you have, or how many people you are cooking for, you can use broccoli and pasta too. Use all three if you're pushing the boat out.

Put the veg / pasta into the dish. Remember that bacon you crisped up earlier? Now's the time to add it to the sauce. Stir it in, then pour over the veg. Grate some cheese over the top, whack under the gorilla until it's bubbling & browning.

Serve with a nice chunk of good bread.

Menolly_2

I usually make a roux sauce, but I have also used Sauce Flour (NB this is NOT cornflour, it is actually called Sauce Flour) - take 25g sauce flour and whisk in 250-300ml milk. Bring this to the boil stirring all the time, then add a good dollop of strong cheddar, English Mustard to taste and let the cheese melt into the sauce.
You do need to drain the cauliflower well - and I tend to cook it so it is "al dente" when I poke the stalk end with a knife and then, having drained the thing, drown it in the sauce, put a bit more cheese on top and then whack it into a hot oven until the top is bubbly and golden brown. Yum!

tirednurse_2

Does anyone know if it is ok to use frozen cauliflower to make cauliflower cheese?

Thanks.

imogen-p

Should be able to. I'd defrost it first thought or otherwise it'll make the cheese sauce really runny.

tirednurse_2

Oooooh. That was a quick reply. Thanks Imogen.
I hadn't thought of defrosting it!

Purplekylie22

imogen-p wrote: »

Should be able to. I'd defrost it first thought or otherwise it'll make the cheese sauce really runny.

yes i did it before... Frozen _pale_ it wasn't exactly what i would call edible :shocked: should be fine if you defrost it though

esmf73

Should be OK if you put the frozen cauli into boiling water and lightly cook first, drain and then add the cheese sauce. x

kerleytops

Made a lovely cauliflower and potato curry from the BBC Good Food website using frozen cauliflower and it worked a treat. Used cheap Morrison's own brand too and it was better looking than the expensive fresh ones.

xx_Jo_xx

esmf73 wrote: »

Should be OK if you put the frozen cauli into boiling water and lightly cook first, drain and then add the cheese sauce. x

This is how I do it...

Boil and drain it and let the steam evaporate a bit, then add the cheese sauce. Then I top it with cheese and put it in the oven or under the grill... LO gobbles it up every time. x

meritaten

as others have said - lightly cook it first in boiling salted water then make as usual! honestly its just as good as fresh! and sometimes much more economical! (the price of fresh caulis is just ridiculous).