A smokey and spiced cauliflower cheese with a herby parmesan crumb on top. Delicious and warming, a perfect side for special and winter meals! I pair this regularly with any roasts I do, such as my roast chicken. This is also a must have addition to any table for Christmas dinner!
The History of Cauliflower Cheese
Cauliflower cheese is quintessentially English dish! It was first mentioned in a cookbook dating back to 1747, called The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse. It followed the introduction of cauliflower to western Europe from Cyprus. Originally, it was a cost effective side dish intended to stretch a budget. Victorian English households would serve it as a side dish alongside roast dinners on a Sunday. This tradition continues today!
It’s interesting to look at this dish in the time it came from as it is so similar to macaroni and cheese. The only real difference between them is the use of cauliflower rather than pasta! I find this so interesting because macaroni and cheese is also an English dish! This is a fact that people commonly overlook. The modern version first appeared in The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald, dating from 1769. This would clearly suggest that the Victorians in England were very big on a Mornay sauce!
I find it interesting that mac and cheese has spread so far around the world, yet cauliflower cheese is still a fairly local British dish. This ultimately means we can enjoy it to ourselves, which is fine by me!
My Recipe
My recipe has a few deviations from the traditional recipes, and those come from the inclusion of a few extra spices! This adds a lot of depth to the dish, but also helps it to cut through other rich dishes. When paired with roasted meats and vegetables, and rich gravy, this is essential!
As mentioned above, this dish uses a mornay sauce. This is basically just a bechemel sauce with cheese grated and melted in. This will almost always include nutmeg in it as a spice, and I do also make use of this. The cheese I use is mature cheddar, which is quite a strong, sharp and tangy cheese. I find that smoked paprika works so well with this to accentute those flavours! I also then like to add some cumin seeds too. These give a bit of extra earthiness and nuttiness to round off the flavour profile nicely!
The second thing I like to do differently is to add the crumb on top. This gives a nice textural variety, but also gives a another opportunity to pack in some flavour. I look to the breading for things like fried chicken as inspiration! I add some dried thyme and garlic powder to give some punchy seasoning. Of course, this is a cheese forward dish so I also add Parmesan to crisp up and add some salty, savouriness.
Spiced Cauliflower Cheese with a Herby Crumb
Ingredients
Method
- Heat your oven up to 200°C.
- Cut the cauliflower florets from the stem and boil in salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Lightly crush the cumin seeds and add them to the butter to infuse as it melts.
- Add in the flour and mix well to combine into a paste, called a roux. Cook this off for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the milk in gradually, pouring in a little bit at a time and mixing in with the roux to combine. Add as much milk as you need to get a silky sauce that coats the back of a spoon.
- Add in the nutmeg, smoked paprika and English mustard alongside some salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Add in all of the grated cheddar and 30g of the grated parmesan. Mix consistently to let the cheese melt into the sauce. Add more milk if needed to loosen the sauce until it runs smoothly again.
- Add the cauliflower to the cheese sauce and mix well. Transfer it to a roasting dish.
- Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic granules, dried thyme and remaining parmesan together. Season with salt and pepper and scatter over the top.
- Place the dish into the oven and leave for 20-25 minutes. It is done when the sauce is bubbling and the crumb on top has crisped up!
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