I have never really been a huge fan of cauliflower - that is until I decide to bake it with some hearty spices and a good squiggle of mustard! This is a great midweek dinner in our family and has definitely introduced more cauliflower in our diets.
Having through about a way to jazz up some cauliflower, I decided to go the obvious way, to start with: cheese. As I am lactose intolerant, I used vegan cheese slices from Violife, which are made from coconut. I don't find they melt quite so promptly as normal cheese, but I do like the subtle taste, not being a huge cheese fun (I know!) myself. The next step was to use a good spice combo to liven up the dish: a mix of cumin, coriander, fennel and smoked paprika. The result was interesting, but I felt it was still missing something ... until I added some mustard!
Yields 1 large tray of cauliflower - can be served as a main or as a side
Ingredients:
- 1 cauliflower head
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced (I prefer to use white onions)
- a generous squeeze of yellow mustard
- 200g of diced cheese (or vegan cheese)
- 180ml of milk (I used almond milk)
- 2 slices of diced pancetta
- 1 handful of sea salt (for boiling the cauliflower)
- 1 tsp of ground cumin
- 1 tsp of ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds crushed
- 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
Method:
Start by preparing the cauliflower: remove the leaves and divide into florets. Place a large pan full of water on a high flame and bring to boil. Once the water is boiling add a handful of sea salt and add the cauliflower florets. Boil on medium heat for about 20 mins.
Pre-heat the oven at 180C.
Whilst the cauliflower boils, you can prepare the cheese sauce. Place a pan on a medium heat and add the milk. Once the milk has started heating up, add the cheese and mix it in until it melts into the milk. Increase the heat and bring to boil, constantly stirring to avoid the milk burning or the cheese sticking to the bottom of the pan. This is to thicken the mixture, but don't be surprised if it is still very liquid as it is normal ad will thicken further in the oven. Don't let it boil over and turn the flame off after a few minutes.
Once the cauliflower is boiled, drain and place on a large overproof tray. Add the onion slices and the pancetta. Pour the cheese sauce over the ingredients on the tray, ensuring that they are coated evenly.
In a separate small cup or bowl, mix together all of the spices. Sprinkle the spice mix all over the cauliflower and use a spoon to help you coat it, if necessary.
Lastly, squeeze a generous amount of mustard all over the cauliflower and again, coat evenly if required.
Place the tray in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. If you would like the top to be nice and crispy you can always add a couple of minutes under the grill at the end.
Buon appetito!
If you end up giving this recipe a go, I would love to see a snap of it. Simply tag @giadasplate on Instagram or send me a DM.
Happy cooking & buon appetito!