Cauliflower Cheese

Let me begin this post by saying I hate cauliflower cheese.  Urgh.  Cauliflower!  A vegetable that tastes like feet.  And the sauce!  It's usually thin and milky and doesn't do anything to disguise the taste of cauliflower, which is surely the point!

But let me share a secret with you.  This is honestly the most awesome cauliflower cheese recipe ever.  It tastes of cheese and nothing else.  Thank you, Rick Stein, you are a god. 

(Recipe adapted from the one in this lovely book, which is a favourite on our kitchen shelf.  It's adapted only in the sense that I've tried to cut down on some of the cream usage.  Because I am a killjoy and care about things like cholesterol.)

You need (serves 2):

1 small cauliflower

1 small onion

4 cloves

3/4 pint full-cream milk

1 bay leaf

black peppercorns

1 oz butter

1 oz plain flour

3 oz extra mature cheddar, the strongest you can find, grated

2 tsps English mustard

Firstly, make up the white sauce.  Chop the onion in half, take off the outer layers of skin and stud with the cloves.  Put this in a pan, and pour in the milk.  Add the bayleaf and a handful of black peppercorns.  Warm the pan until the milk is at boiling point, then turn off the heat and allow the pan to sit quietly for the flavours to infuse.

Give the milk about 20 minutes, and then strain into a jug and throw away the onion, bayleaf and peppercorns.   In another pan, melt the butter, add the flour and stir vigorously for about a minute.  Then add the milk, and allow the mixture to come to the boil, stirring all the while to get a smooth, non-lumpy sauce.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Boil a big pan of water for the cauliflower.  Cut the vegetables into manageable chunks - use the leaves as well, they add a nice bit of colour to the dish.  Put the cauliflower in a colander above the boiling water and steam for 8-10 minutes, until the pieces are almost tender.   Tip the cooked pieces into an ovenproof dish.

Stir the grated cheese and mustard into the milk, then pour over the cauliflower  (you should have enough sauce to cover it all).  Pop the dish under the grill while you set the table and slice some fresh bread to have alongside.  Serve when the top is golden and bubbling.