Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
If you get right down to it, Macaroni Cheese really is all about the sauce. It can be tricky to get the sauce smooth and cheesy and not tasteless and pasty. Once you do though, this is a jumping off point to a vast array of dishes. That is why white sauce (also known as bechamel) is referred to as a “mother sauce”. Basically, mother sauces all start with melting butter and whisking in flour to make a roux. If you add a clear stock to that, you can make a velouté sauce which is great over fish. If you add milk instead, you’ve got bechamel. Add a little nutmeg or lemon and pour it over a slice of grilled ham; adding gruyere instead of nutmeg and lemon creates hollandaise, which is great on eggs, or over steamed vegetables. You can also use it to thicken soups or as a base for chowders. I use it as a substitute for ricotta in lasagna and of course macaroni and cheese. When you are more comfortable making the sauce, change it up a bit: try different cheeses, whisk in mustard, or fresh herbs, or sherry—the possibilities are endless.
There are three steps to a successful sauce: 1) Have the butter, flour and milk measured out and ready to go (“mise en place”). 1A) For impatient people like myself—put on some music, a podcast, or book on tape because watching a pot can be a bit dull… 2) Melt the butter over low heat and whisk in the flour. Continue to stir the paste until it browns and smells a bit nutty. (This is an important step that helps to intensify the flavor of your sauce, so stick with it and stir!) 3) Add the milk, slowly whisking until it is incorporated; leave the pot on the stove over low heat, stirring every 3 minutes or so until your bechamel starts to thicken. Be patient: it can take up to 7-8 minutes. Now the sauce is ready for additions. Once it is made you can let it sit while you are preparing the rest of the dish—just be sure to warm the sauce up over very low heat while stirring. After all your hard work you don’t want it to burn.
Serves 6
Adapted from epicurious.com
Ingredients:
1 1/2lb. head of cauliflower
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup crème fraiche
2 scallions sliced on the diagonal (1/2 cup)
2 medium tomatoes diced, or cherry tomatoes halved (1/2 cup)-optional
3 cups grated cheese (I use a combination of sharp cheddar and gruyere)
½ cups parmesan cheese- ¼ to add the sauce. ¼ for the breadcrumb topping
3 ½ cups pasta -macaroni or penne
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 cup breadcrumbs (not seasoned) I like panko
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat, add the pasta lower the heat just a bit and cook 2 minutes less than the packaged instructions (you want the noodles to be slightly underdone) drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water. Set aside to cool.
Cut off leaves of the cauliflower and break into florets. Break larger ones so that they are mostly all the same size. Toss with olive oil and salt and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. You don’t want them completely soft because they will be baked a second time. Place in a large bowl and toss with the pasta, scallions and diced tomatoes if using.
While the cauliflower is cooking make the cheese sauce. Measure out the butter, flour, milk, crème fraiche and both cheeses. In a medium sized saucepan melt the butter over low heat, add the flour and stir into a paste. Continue to stir over low heat for about 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk while whisking the lumps till the sauce is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring every couple of minutes for 7 to 8 minutes to thicken the sauce. Pull off the heat and add the crème fraiche and the cheese. Whisk to combine. Place back on the heat and stir until ingredients have melted. Taste, the sauce should be cheesy and tangy. Add it to the cauliflower, pasta bowl and combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon into a 9”x13” glass baking dish.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan and toss in the breadcrumbs. Swirl around to coat the breadcrumbs and toast in the pan for about 1 minute, toss with the remaining ¼ cup of parmesan. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the entire dish. Bake for 35 minutes until bubbling.
You can make this 3 or 4 hours ahead-just leave it at room temperature.
