As a child, cauliflower was the only vegetable I would eat. My mother cooked it in a frying pan with buttered breadcrumbs, as I still do to this day. Delicious.
I have cozied up to Cauliflower Quesadilla and Cauliflower Tikka Masala. I always serve my Cream of Cauliflower Soup with grated Gruyère cheese and crunchy croutons, a combination that never fails to make me dizzy with delight. Back in my culinary youth, I began serving my guests cauliflower purée as a substitute for mashed potatoes, and from that day forward, I rarely wrote a menu without it.
I love cauliflower with roast lamb best of all, but it plays nicely with just about any meat, fish, or fowl. At Howie's, we make our signature Cauliflower Gratin and offer it as a frozen to-go item. This rich and satisfying vegetarian main course combines cauliflower with Rustichella Rigatoni pasta, Gruyère cheese, and a creamy béchamel. It’s comfort food at its finest, ready to enjoy at home whenever the craving strikes.
The crispy breadcrumb topping? Well, that’s for Mom—she would have liked it that way.
Ingredients for Cauliflower Gratin
Serves 4 as a Main Course or 6-8 as an accompaniment
300 g Rigatoni or Ziti, raw
485 g Cauliflower (one smallish head)
360 g Bechamel
65 g Crumb Topping
60 g Milk
25 g Parmesan-Reggiano, grated
120 g Gruyere (or other Swiss) Cheese, half inch dice
50 g Green onion, minced
1/2 tbl Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp White pepper
pinch Nutmeg, grated
½ tsp Tobasco
Pinch of Chili Flakes
Prepare the Pasta, the Cauliflower, the Bechamel and the Crumb Topping
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Set aside.
Peel and remove the core from the cauliflower. Cut into small bite size pieces. Its not important to retain a ‘Florette’ shape.
Blanch the pasta in Boiling water very briefly until it has a bite but doesn’t feel raw in the mouth, less than a minute. Set aside,
Make the Bechamel (recipe follows). Set aside.
Make the Crumb Topping (recipe follows)
The rest is easy.
In a big bowl place the blanched pasta, the blanched cauliflower and the bechamel.
Add the remaining ingredients, except the Crumb Topping, and gently mix well to combine.
Taste the mixture, adjust seasoning. The nutmeg won’t read until it’s baked, so don’t get carried away.
Place the pasta mixture into an oiled 9 x 13 casserole dish.
Sprinkle the Crumb Topping on top.
Recipe can be held at this point until service.
Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes or until the crumbs are well browned and the filling is bubbling a little. Cool for 10 minutes before serving or it might be too runny when you serve it.
Crumb Topping
Yields for one Recipe
35 g Panko or Bread Crumbs
15 g Grated Parmesan
15 g Olive Oil
Pinch Salt
Pinch pepper
Pinch Chili Flake
Mix to combine
Bechamel
Yields for one Recipe
25 g Flour
25 g Butter
300 g Milk
80 g Cream
½ tsp Salt
Pinch White pepper, ground
Pinch nutmeg, ground
Combine Cream and milk in a saucepan
Bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
In a sauté pan, melt the butter.
Add the flour all at once and whisk until smooth.
Cook over a low heat stirring frequently for 5 minutes to make a blond roux.
Whisk the roux into the simmering milk
Whisk frequently while gently simmering the sauce for 5-10 minutes.
Strain the sauce through a sieve to remove lumps.
Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Adjust to your liking.
This dish is comfort food at its finest, ready to enjoy at home whenever the craving strikes.
To prepare this recipe you’re going to need a bar blender and a digital scale. If you don’t have these tools, get them.
All serious cooks, professional and inspired amateurs, should have a scale. They can be bought for as little as twenty dollars.
At the restaurant, we use a Taylor TE10FT. It costs sixty dollars on Amazon, and it will last you a lifetime.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, we’d love to hear from you.
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