I never complain about having too much cheese in my fridge. Come to think of it cheese may be my favorite food if we’re speaking in general terms. My man crow and I were blessed with a car this past weekend so I got a chance to stock up on all my favorite groceries, which of course included various cheeses. By Sunday I was the proud owner of Gruyere, Parm, Mozz, Feta, and Goat Cheese. I needed to devise a plan to use these goodies up before the unthinkable happens: they spoil!
Glancing at a head of cauliflower I just got in my vegetable box and a desire to use up as much cheese as possible, I figured a safe but delicious bet would be some baked mac and cheese….with cauliflower.
Baked Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
This was my first attempt at making mac & cheese from scratch and to be honest, I winged it so I can’t provide exact measurements but here’s the basic technique:
Bechemel/Cheeeese sauce: saute butter/oil, garlic, finely diced onions until translucent. Add flour and cook for another 3 minutes, then gradually whisk in heated milk. Let mixture thicken another 5-10 minutes, then stir in grated cheese (I used gruyeye, mozz and parm), season with salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne and remove from heat.
Pasta/Cauliflower: I used whole wheat pasta so it would hold a good consistency while baking, cook in boiling salted water till al dente. Add the cauliflower florets in the last 3 minutes.
Baking: Combine the pasta, cauliflower and sauce in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a baking dish, top off with a layer of parm cheese and bread crumbs and bake covered in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, then let set before serving.
Mo brought over a delicious green salad with a homemade balsamic and grainy mustard vinaigrette and before I knew it we had an impromptu dinner party on our hands!
