How do I make cauliflower cheese?

[hopefully]

I appreciate that I probably should have picked this up somewhere over the past 25 years, but I have no idea how to make it, and have got a cauliflower sitting on the work top looking accusingly at me.

My plan for dinner involves some bacon, cauliflower cheese, and greens of some description.

Anyone got a simple cauliflower cheese recipe?

And apologies if I have spelt cauliflower wrong...

Do you know how to make bechamel (white ) sauce?

Make that up with a pint of milk and add lots (at least 100g) of grated chedder so it melts in. Pour over cooked cauliflower then sprinkle on a bit more cheddar and stick under the grill for a few minutes.

You can make in advance and stick in the oven for 20 mins instead.

do you know how to make a cheese sauce?

Cut up cauliflower and boil or steam for 10 mins.

Make cheese sauce (basic roux and add small amount of mustard and some grated cheese).

Drain cauliflower and put in oven dish, pour cheese sauce over.

Top with breadcrumbs or cheese or a mixture of both.

Put in oven for 20 mins on around 180.

MILs tip for those who don't really like cauliflower but will eat it dowsed in cheese sauce, steam the cauli with a bit of stale bread. It takes away a bit of the strong taste of the cauli.

Of course you remove the stale bread before you put the cauli in the dish!

basic roux

I put quite a bit of mustard in mine too, really brings out the flavour.

Thanks very much! I haven't made white sauce for years, so thanks for the link armadillo.

I'm intrigued by the stale bread - I quite like the taste of cauliflower, but want to try it anyway!

I learnt another way of doing this dish at a Riverford event at my local Lakeland store last week. Steam the cauli (they used cauli and Romanesco which is in season at the mo), boil some penne pasta up. When both are done, add to a dish and combine with 500ml of creme fraiche and lots of tasty cheddar. No messing with a roux and it's less likely to split when grilled/baked. I'm hooked!