Cauliflower Gratin

Love a good mac and cheese, but watching your carbs? Here's a great dish that will let you feed your craving and not give you the unwanted carbohydrates. It's cheesy cauliflower gratin, and if you're really cutting down you can skip the 'gratin' as that refers to the crunchy topping typically provided by a small amount of toasted breadcrumbs. The dish will brown fine without them if you prefer.

My original recipe came from Ina Garten that great chef known for her show the Barefoot Contessa. I have modified it slightly to add the chopped garlic, which I prefer. I've also found it's easy to scale up or down based on the amount of cauliflower you have or the number of people you are feeding. In the photo hear I'm using about 4.5 pounds of cauliflower. 

Cheese Options: You can use various combinations of cheese in the dish. Today I'm using three types because I had them on hand and as I always say, cook with what you have. They are Gruyère, Parmesan and Cheddar; all freshly grated. I had just a little cheddar left from another recipe, and when I don't have Gruyère I substitute Emmental which is a similar Swiss cheese of the more mild variety. You don't want anything too sharp or stringy in this recipe. Just try to make sure they are all freshy grated so they melt easily. Pre-grated cheese contains preservatives like potato starch and natamycin, meant to keep the shreds from clumping together in the bag. That also means they don't melt together as well when cooking.

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings)
1 (3-pound) head cauliflower

      cut into large florets
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 - 1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Grate your cheese, chop the garlic and measure your ingredients. 

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil adding the pinch of salt. Add the cauliflower and cook for 5 to 6
minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.

While the cauliflower cooks, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in the garlic and cook while stirring for 1 minute. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a low boil. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute, or until thickened. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of salt, the

pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8" by 11" or similar baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top in mostly a single layer and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and stir in the butter until the crumbs are fully coated. Sprinkle on top of the cheesy cauliflower. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the cauliflower is just fork tender. Turn on the broiler briefly watching it closely to brown if needed. Do not overcook so the cauliflower does not get too soft. Serve hot or at room temperature.