Cauliflower Cheese

Name: Cauliflower Cheese
Yield: Serves 4—6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley; 120 g mature Cheddar cheese, grated; 1 medium cauliflower; ½ bay leaf; 1 litre milk; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 60 g plain flour; 100 ml double cream; 60 g butter

Preparation info

Serves
4—6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

British Seasonal Food

By Mark Hix

Published 2008

About

This is one of my all-time favourite dishes. It’s great comfort food — perfect for family meals and TV suppers. Heads of cauliflower come in various sizes, some with more leaves than others. I prefer to keep and use the leaves in a dish like this - they taste great and give a bit of colour, so there’s no point in wasting them.

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower
1 litre milk
½ bay leaf

Europe
United Kingdom
Supper
Main course
Winter
January
Vegetarian

Method

Cut the cauliflower into florets, reserving the leaves and stalk. Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan, with the bay leaf added, and season well. Add the cauliflower florets and leaves, and simmer for about 7-8 minutes until tender. Drain in a colander over a bowl to reserve the milk.

Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan and stir in the flour. Stir over a low heat for about 30 secon