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This cauliflower au gratin is so easy to make and is a classic supper dish in the French
home. It also makes a great accompaniment for other dishes of meat or chicken
too, so is very versatile for you – and scrumptious!
Ingredients
• 1 cauliflower broken into florets
• 3 tablespoons/ 1½ oz/40gms butter
• 4 tablespoons / 2 oz/50gms flour
• 1½ cups milk/ ¾ pint/375mls
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard - this is optional for you but is included in French method and is delicious.
• 1½ tablespoons / 6 oz grated Swiss cheese (or any hard cheese)
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
Method
• Prepare your oven by preheating it to 350°F/177°C/Gas 3
• Prepare your gratin dish or shallow baking dish by lightly brushing it with butter.
• Cook your cauliflower florets in slightly salted boiling water for about six minutes until just tender but not sloppy! You can also steam them if preferred for about ten minutes.
• Now to make the sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan over a low heat.
• Add the flour and cook until golden. Some people use a wooden spoon for this - I prefer to use a balloon whisk and stir gently. This way I get no lumps! Stir constantly.
• Pour in about half of the milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps forming and it will be lovely and smooth.
• Stir in the remaining milk, then the bay leaf. Stir constantly.
• Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg to your taste - literally, taste it at this stage.
• Reduce the heat and simmer and stir for a few minutes.
• Remove from the heat for the next part.
• Remove the bay leaf.
• Add the mustard and half of the grated cheese and stir until melted.
• Place the cauliflower florets in your dish and pour over the cheese sauce sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on the top.
• Bake for about fifteen to twenty minutes until golden brown.
As you take it out of the oven, the smell is tantalysingly good!
Cauliflower au gratin is such a tasty and easy dish to make and is so versatile too. You can serve it just as it is with fresh crusty bread and a fresh green salad, or it can be equally good as a side dish with a main meal.