Dr Mobeus
Cauliflower Cheese
Cauliflower cheese is proper comfort food and, contrary to its reputation, it is very cheap to make from scratch. A whole cauliflower is one of the best value vegetables in the shops, and a homemade cheese sauce costs a fraction of anything from a jar. At around 58p a portion as a main, it beats most ready meals on price and taste.
The keys to a good cheese sauce are patience and mustard. Add the milk gradually at the start so you get no lumps, and a teaspoon of English mustard sharpens the cheddar so you need less of it. Boiling the cauliflower briefly first means it only needs 15 minutes in the oven, keeping everything simple.
Cauliflower Cheese
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Bring a large pan of water to the boil.
- Boil the cauliflower florets for 3-4 minutes until just tender but still with some bite. Drain well and tip into a baking dish.
- Make the sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute to make a paste.
- Add the milk a splash at a time, stirring well after each addition, until you have a smooth sauce. Then pour in the rest and simmer for 2-3 minutes until it thickens.
- Stir in three quarters of the cheese, the mustard, salt and pepper until the cheese has melted.
- Pour the sauce evenly over the cauliflower and scatter the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbling at the edges. Serve with jacket potatoes or crusty bread.
Tips and Variations
The mustard is not optional – it sharpens a cheaper cheddar so you can use less cheese for the same flavour. Do not skip the brief boil, as raw cauliflower would need 45 minutes in the oven. A grating of nutmeg is traditional if you have it. For a fuller meal, stir through cooked leeks or bacon bits before the sauce goes on. If the top is pale, finish it under a hot grill for 2 minutes to get it properly golden.
