ROASTED CAULIFLOWER, BLUE CHEESE SAUCE, PINE NUTS AND SAGE
Once upon a time home cooks across Australia did little to the humble cauliflower other than boiling the florets or occasionally smothering them in gluggy mornay sauce. Understandably, the cauliflower went out of culinary fashion for a while.
But recent years have seen a resurgence in popularity as we have learned how to make them tastier and more interesting (due in no small part to the seductive recipes of Yotam Ottolenghi and his love of the blond brassica).
Today we find ourselves eating cauliflower as steaks, pureed with scallops, in Middle Eastern spiced salads, as ‘rice’ and so on. A favourite way is to serve the vegetable whole. Our Roasted Cauliflower, Blue Cheese Sauce, Pine Nuts and Sage dish is loosely based on the Mornay original but with quite a bit of zhooshing.
Better than the version from your childhood? We know what we think but you decide for yourself.
Caren
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER, BLUE CHEESE SAUCE, PINE NUTS AND SAGE
Serves 4 as a side.
1 small, very fresh whole cauliflower, trimmed
1 teaspoon sea salt
40 gm butter
50 ml pure cream
85 gm soft blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
20 gm pine nuts or sliced almonds
10-12 fresh sage leaves
2 spring onions, julienned
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a small baking pan.
Place the cauliflower in a large saucepan and fill with water, then remove the cauliflower and set aside. (This ensures the water does not spill over the pan when you place the cauliflower in the boiling water.) Add salt to the water and bring it to the boil.
Carefully place the cauliflower in the water (that will stop boiling) and blanch for 5 minutes or until a knife pierces the centre with just a touch of resistance. Do not overcook. Strain and allow the cauliflower to cool for a few minutes. Rub with 20gm of the butter and place on the prepared pan. Cook for 10 minutes then remove from the oven. Set the oven to grill mode.
Meanwhile, to make the cheese sauce, combine the cream, blue cheese and pepper in a small saucepan and heat gently until most of the cheese melts. Set aside.
Dry fry the pine nuts or sliced almonds and set aside. Fry the sage leaves in the remaining 20gm of butter until crisp and remove to paper towel to drain.
Spoon most of the cheese sauce over the cauliflower, keeping some to finish the dish, and return the pan to the oven under the grill for 5 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Place the cauliflower on a serving dish, pour over the pan juices, spoon on the remaining cheese sauce, garnish with the spring onions and then the nuts and sage leaves.
TIP: The cauliflower can be broken up into florets before cooking to make it easier to handle but you’ll miss out on the oohs and aahs when presenting the whole vegetable at the table. Cooking times would need to be reduced slightly.