Chef Comerfords Cauliflower Gratin Recipes

CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN

Steps:

• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add cauliflower, cover, and steam until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9-inch baking dish.
• Heat butter in a small saucepan over low heat; cook and stir onion in the melted butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture just starts to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually pour milk into mixture, whisking into a smooth sauce. Cook until just simmering.
• Remove sauce from heat and stir in half the Cheddar cheese until melted; sprinkle with pepper and nutmeg.
• Place steamed cauliflower in the prepared baking dish; pour cheese sauce over cauliflower. Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and browned, about 25 minutes.

CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN

Steps:

• Lightly butter a 13 X 9" pyrex baking dish and put in cauliflower.
• Season lightly with white pepper and sprinkle all the cheeses over.
• Beat the eggs into the half and half (you can also use 1 1/2 cups milk, 2 eggs and 1 tblsp cornflour as a sub). Pour over cauliflower-cheese mixture and top with buttered breadcrumbs.
• Bake in a 375F oven until lightly golden-brown.
• Allow to cool slightly before serving.
• This is also super good at room temperature or cold.
• (Try it for breakfast!) Reheats well, so can be made in advance- just pour a couple of tablespoonfuls of cream (or milk) over for moisture.

CAULIFLOWER GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. 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 boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, 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 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a large baking dish with butter and add the broccoli and cauliflower. Roast until slightly browned, about 15 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, whisk in the flour and let it cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off, whisk in the half-and-half, then turn the heat up to high and keep whisking to avoid the flour from clumping. Add the Cheddar, salt and pepper and whisk until the cheese is melted.
• Remove the broccoli and cauliflower from the oven and pour the Cheddar mixture over the top. Sprinkle evenly with the breadcrumbs and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

CHEF COMERFORD'S CAULIFLOWER GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray a 1-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Trim the cauliflower and cut into florets.
• Steam the cauliflower in a large pot with a little water over medium-low heat until tender. Remove the cauliflower from the pot to a towel to remove excise moisture.(Or you could roast the cauliflower for about 30 minutes, turning once, at 400*F.).
• Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
• Add the milk, whisking all the time to make sure there are no lumps.
• Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, and let the sauce thicken. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and add the nutmeg.
• Put the cauliflower into the prepared pan. Top with half of the cheese. Pour the white sauce (bechamel) over the cheese. Top with the remaining cheese and the bread crumbs.
• Bake, uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.

TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk flour into butter; cook and stir until raw flour taste cooks off, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Gradually whisk milk into flour mixture. Increase heat to medium-high; cook and stir until mixture thickens and comes to a simmer, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir truffled pecorino cheese, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg into milk mixture until cheese sauce is thick.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add cauliflower and cook until slightly tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer cauliflower to prepared baking dish. Spread cheese sauce evenly over cauliflower. Dust with bread crumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh chives.