Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower, in florets
• 50 g butter
• 50 g plain flour
• 600 ml whole milk
• 180 g mature cheddar, grated
• 2 tsp english mustard
• a grating of nutmeg
• 40 g breadcrumbs
• 30 g parmesan, grated

Method

1. Undercook the cauliflower

   Boil the florets in well-salted water for 5 minutes only, then drain and leave them to steam dry in the colander. They finish cooking in the oven, and a soggy cauliflower waters the sauce down.

   5 min

2. Make a roux

   Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook for two full minutes until it smells biscuity. Undercooked roux is why so many cheese sauces taste faintly of raw flour.

   2 min

3. Build the sauce

   Add the milk a splash at a time at first, beating smooth after each addition, then the rest. Adding it all at once is how you get lumps, and once they are in they stay in.

   8 min

4. Cheese off the heat

   Take the pan off the heat before stirring in the cheddar, mustard and nutmeg. Boiled, cheese sauce goes stringy and oily as the fat separates out.

5. Assemble and bake

   Pour over the cauliflower, top with breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan, and bake at 200°C until bubbling and browned.

   25 min