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Purple Cauliflower and Romanesco with Blue Cheese Sauce
Purple Cauliflower and Romanesco with Blue Cheese Sauce Purple cauliflower and RomanescoThis was initially an experiment, but as a recipe for purple cauliflower and / or Romanesco, it's delicious. It takes 20 minutes start to finish and looks impressive, too.

I have often found that "traditional" cauliflower cheese can be a bit watery and bland, no matter how good your sauce.

My theory was that oven baking makes the veg leak water and dilute the flavour - and I reckon I'm right. This recipe just grills the top and the flavours stay nice and strong.
 

Ingredients
Serves 4 as a side dish

1 medium Romanesco
2 medium / 4 baby purple cauliflowers
150ml lower fat creme fraiche
75g blue cheese, cut into cubes
40g Parmesan or mature Cheddar, grated
Pepper
50ml milk
2 teaspoons cornflour, dissolved in a little water
1 - 2 slices slightly stale bread (optional)
 

Method
  1. Trim the outer leaves off the cauliflower and Romanesco. Trim the stalks. Wash well (I had a slug in mine this evening!).

  2. If small enough, leave the veggies whole. Otherwise cut in half or quarter.

  3. Steam for about 10 minutes, until soft to your preference.
    Note: steaming helps preserve vitamins, keep the colour and avoid "cauliflower stink"!

  4. Meanwhile gently melt the creme fraiche with the cheeses in a pan. Add the milk and the cornflour and mix well. Simmer very gently for a couple of minutes, until everything is nicely melted.

  5. Blitz the bread in a blender or grinder until it has turned into breadcrumbs.

  6. Arrange the veggies in a heat proof dish and pour the sauce on top. Top with the breadcrumbs and some freshly ground black pepper.

  7. Grill on medium for about 5 minutes, until the cheese and breadcrumbs are slightly golden and bubbling.

  8. Delicious served with quinoa.

 

Time From Cupboard-To-Table
20 minutes
 

Notes & Variations on Purple Cauliflower and Romanesco with Blue Cheese Sauce
You could happily use ordinary cauliflower for this.

For an even tastier sauce, you could add a clover of fresh garlic after adding the cornflour. (If you add it before, you might think your sauce has gone lumpy!)

If you don't have blue cheese, make a normal cheese sauce instead - improvise!
 
 
 
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