White Owl Island

My dish for the Potluck meal at the festivities will be Cauliflower Cheese.  This is one of my favourites and will be suitable for vegetarians too.  I will write down how I make it, but I have been preparing this for decades and ceased measuring things a loooooong time ago.  I mostly go on instinct when I’m making it, so I hope the instructions can be followed alright.

You will need:
1 Nice white cauliflower
Butter – best
Flour – plain
Milk – any
Cheese – grated, tasty
Seasoning – to taste
Mustard powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Nutmeg

Method:
1. Wash the cauliflower. If it’s small it can be cooked whole, otherwise cut the florets off the main stalk (a bit smaller than fist size).
I like to steam my cauliflower as it retains less water than boiling and it won’t water down the sauce. Don’t cook it to death. It needs to retain some crunch as it finishes cooking in the oven. Allow it to cool a bit (stop steaming), then transfer to a casserole. Arrange it so it looks nice.

2. Place a wodge (about the size of a matchbox) of butter* in a medium sized saucepan and allow to melt over a gentle heat. Don’t let it brown. Add flour – about a couple of rounded tablespoons. Stir. If it looks like spak-filler add more butter and let the mixture cook for a minute or so. This is to cook the flour.  Don’t let it brown.
* Butter should be used, not margarine which is two molecules shy of plastic.

3. Add a couple of cups of cold milk straight from the fridge. This works for me. I’ve watched them on cooking shows fiddling about with warm milk, a few drops at a time. My theory; the cold milk solidifies the butter mix which slowly melts as the milk warms up. No lumps! You have to keep stirring while it thickens. I give it a bit of a whisk at the end, just to be sure. It should be thick enough to coat the cauliflower, but should not be like pudding. If it’s too thick then you can add more milk a bit at a time until it’s right. If it’s too thin, you’re stuffed and have to start again!

4. Add a cupful of grated cheese – more if you like – and you can save a bit to sprinkle on the top if you like. Stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Add the dry mustard powder and the salt and white pepper to taste. Stir well.

5. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower; sprinkle with (cheese if you want and) nutmeg and place in the oven on 180c. Cook until golden.

This is delicious hot but is so nice I can eat it cold straight out of the fridge, too!

Hope you can follow these instructions, and it turns out right. This basic white sauce can be used in lasagne, for parsley sauce and for white onion sauce, which is nice with pork. You have to saute the onions first though.