cauliflower Archives - The Midnight Baker

Alfredo Cauliflower with Tomatoes & Prosciutto

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 00:00:21 +0000

Try this Alfredo cauliflower as a Thanksgiving side, but you’ll love it for year round.

Alfredo Cauliflower–Perfect Side Dish

I consider this Alfredo cauliflower the perfect side dish since it can wear many hats. And one of those hats is that it can also be a main course!

This is also a great recipe for the coming holidays. It will wow the family and any guests–trust me on this! Since it’s so rich, a little bit goes a long way as a side. This is one of those dishes where you just cannot be concerned with calories. However, a little splurging at holiday time is always permitted and this one is so worth it.

A Recipe That’s Adaptable

This Alfredo cauliflower can be adapted in several ways.

The full version has prosciutto tucked in randomly between the other ingredients. Prosciutto is also known as Parma ham in UK. It gets nice and crispy and adds so much flavor. Made the full way, this is also an excellent main dish. But if you don’t want to invest in prosciutto because I don’t think too many people actually have that on hand, it’s easily omitted. A good deli ham could probably be substituted but I’d advise using one that’s not watery.

In fact when you leave out the meat, it becomes a vegetarian (but unfortunately not vegan) main or side dish.

I wouldn’t suggest leaving out the blistered tomatoes as they are really important to the unique flavor here. Of course you can if you want to do so, but then it becomes like cauliflower cheese with different flavors.

Easy Sauce

The Alfredo sauce is so easy, there’s no reason not to make your own. All that’s involved is stirring a few ingredients together over the heat. There’s no fuss whatsoever to it. That way you know what’s in it.

However, if you must, a good-quality store-bought sauce can be used if you are really pressed for time and don’t want an additional pot to wash.

The Recipe

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Alfredo Cauliflower

So good you'll serve it as a main dish

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Roasting Tomatoes20

Total Time1 10

Course: Main/Side, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cauliflower side dishes, holiday side dishes, roasted cauliflower with cheese sauce

Servings: 6

Calories: 492kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 large head fresh cauliflower
2 cups grape tomatoes
4 oz sliced prosciutto Parma ham in UK
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Parsley for garnish

Sauce:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
Place tomatoes in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil (I used about 2 tablespoons). Spread the tomatoes out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with desired amount of salt & pepper. Roast for approximately 20 minutes, turning halfway though. Tomatoes should be nicely blistered. Set aside.
Next, separate the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Blanch in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes; drain well.
Lightly grease a 3 qt/3L baking dish. Place the cauliflower and tomatoes in the dish, distributing each well. Tear prosciutto into large pieces and tuck it between, the cauliflower and tomatoes, again distributing it well.
Next, in a small saucepan, melt the butter then stir in the cream and bring it to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/4 cups of the cheese and simmer for another minute. Add any salt & pepper to taste.
Pour the sauce evenly over the cauliflower mixture, then top with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden and prosciutto is crispy.

Nutrition

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Cauliflower Cheese

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 23:00:56 +0000

Cauliflower cheese is one of Britain’s favorite side dishes.

A Very British Side Dish

While the rage over cauliflower has to do with the trend to eat less carbs, this veggie has always been popular across the pond.

Vegetables with a creamy cheese sauce is nothing new. This cauliflower cheese isn’t either since it’s a staple at British tables. You can get very fancy with it or serve it as is.

I really don’t like to get too fancy with these old recipes, but I do like to think outside the box. Especially when doing a couple of things differently enhances a recipe that’s already great.

Fresh Cauliflower

As always, fresh is best. However here it’s probably necessary because I roast the cauliflower and I couldn’t imagine doing that with frozen that’s thawed. It’s too watery.

Just separate the fresh head of cauliflower into florets–the size is up to you but I’d avoid large and very small so you can keep the cooking time pretty even.

This step can be done more efficiently by roasting the cauliflower in your air fryer if you have one, but if you don’t, your oven is just as good. Times can vary with how deeply colored you want the cauliflower so you’ll have to keep an eye on it. For my taste, the deeper the color, the more flavor you’ll have in the casserole.

Now For The Cheese

To stay traditional, your best choice would be a high-quality cheddar. I do shy away from the extra-extra sharp varieties from personal taste. But a good sharp one will be good here and it doesn’t matter if it’s yellow or white. However the yellow ones do add a pop of color, but it makes no difference to the taste. And the big surprise is I prefer the regular yellow sharp Cracker Barrel one and that’s available everywhere.

The Recipe

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Cauliflower Cheese

A very British side dish

Prep Time25

Cook Time30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: British

Keyword: british side dishes, cauliflower cheese, fancy cauliflower side dishes

Servings: 6

Calories: 386kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 head fresh cauliflower about 1 1/2 lbs/600 g
2 tbs oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Sauce:

1/4 cup butter
3 tbs flour
10 oz hot milk
Pinch cayenne pepper optional
Pinch nutmeg optional
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
10 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 F/220 C.
Separate cauliflower into individual florets of medium size and place in a large bowl. Drizzle the oil over the cauliflower and toss to coat.
Spread the cauliflower evenly on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until the cauliflower is golden. The time is approximate depending on how roasted you want it.
Place the cauliflower in a 2 qt/2 L baking dish and set aside.
Turn the oven temperature down to 400 F/200 C
To make the sauce: melt the butter in a medium saucepan and when it sizzles, whisk in the flour, cayenne (if using), nutmeg (if using), the mustard and salt. Whisk well so there are no lumps. Let this bubble for about a minute to cook the flour.
Slowly whisk in the hot milk and stir constantly until the mixture bubbles, then continue cooking for 1 minute. Remove from the heat then stir in all but 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is completely melted.
Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and the remaining cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until topping is crisp and golden.

Notes

Sauce may be doubled if you like a lot of sauce.

To roast cauliflower in the air fryer, spray the florets with some oil then air fry for 10-15 minutes (your time may be longer) at 400 F/200 C

Nutrition

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Cream of Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 23:00:48 +0000

This thick and hearty soup is loaded with cauliflower and cheese. Makes a perfect meatless dinner too.

Soup Weather

Now that fall has arrived, thoughts turn to soup and all things comforting.

The soups we tend to think of for fall and winter are hearty soups that can often double as a meal. This cauliflower cheese soup certainly fills those requirements!

Cauliflower is riding a huge wave of popularity lately. I’ve always enjoyed this veggie any way you can imagine. But believe it or not, I’ve never had it in soup and it’s just wonderful!

Doubles As A Meal

A soup as rich and hearty as this cauliflower cheese soup is the perfect meal too.

Serve this with some crusty rolls and a green salad and you’re all set. It’s also great for those times when you don’t feel like eating meat. And strange as it sounds, once you get to be over 50, sometimes you want a meatless meal. I used to love meat and it was always the main event of an evening meal, but once I joined the “50-plus” club, I started craving more meatless meals. It’s not just me either. I have been told the same thing by countless friends in the same age group. And it’s not that we consciously are trying to be vegetarians.

So I’d say this is something empty-nesters and seniors might want to add to their dinner rotations. Another bonus is this, like any other soup, is a good meal for when you are recuperating from colds and the flu.

The Recipe

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Cream of Cauliflower Cheese Soup

This thick and hearty soup is loaded with cauliflower and cheese. Makes a perfect meatless dinner too.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, soups, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cauliflower, cheese soup

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 510kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

16-20 oz frozen cauliflower -OR- equivalent fresh
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups cream light, heavy or half-n-half
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper

THICKENING

1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water

Instructions

Melt butter in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until onion is translucent.
Add the cauliflower and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.
Coarsely mash the cauliflower with a potato masher or immersion blender. Don’t completely puree the soup, unless you like it that way. Leave small florets.
If thickening is desired, mix the flour and water until no lumps remain. Stir into the soup.
Blend in the cream, adding it slowly to incorporate it into the thickened mixture. If you desire a more liquid soup, you can add more stock or cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Blend in the cheeses and stir until completely melted. Add the salt and pepper and stir. More salt and pepper can be added to taste if necessary.

Nutrition

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Creamy Cauliflower Broccoli Salad

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 23:00:25 +0000

Raw cauliflower and broccoli add tons of crunch to this delicious salad. Add a creamy awesome dressing and some bacon and you have the perfect salad.

Raw Equals Crunch

Broccoli and cauliflower are terrific when eaten raw.

These are two veggies that I end up eating more raw than cooked when I buy them fresh. When I am preparing then for cooking, I sneak so much raw, there’s little left to cook!

Both cauliflower and broccoli crowns were on sale this week and I took advantage of those sales. I’d recently seen a friend make something very similar to this, and I just had a taste for doing my own version.

Prepping Broccoli And Cauliflower

I always pull off the thick outer “skin” on broccoli. This is a trick I learned from my mother who told me it would cook faster and be more tender.

If the broccoli crowns are young, very fresh and tender, this is probably not necessary, but if you buy a whole head of broccoli, you may notice that the lower parts of the stem have a thick skin. If you’ve thrown this out in the past, don’t do that anymore! Just peel it with a paring knife and you have more edible portions. You could also save these stems to use with dips for a snack.

It’s not necessary to “peel” the cauliflower.

Awesome Dressing And……Bacon!

This dressing is simply awesome! The combination of flavors is perfect for the cauliflower and broccoli.

It’s got a hint of cheese and a hint of sweetness. Make a double batch and use it on green salads as well.

Another plus to this salad is the addition of bacon. Who doesn’t love bacon? And the bit of bacon added to the salad really pulls the flavors together.

If you leave out the bacon, the salad will be vegetarian (but not vegan), so if you are looking for a meatless salad or even a light lunch, the bacon can be omitted.

The Recipe

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Creamy Cauliflower Broccoli Salad

Raw cauliflower and broccoli add tons of crunch to this delicious salad. Add a creamy awesome dressing and some bacon and you have the perfect salad.

Prep Time5

Cook Time2

Total Time2 5

Course: salads, side dishes, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli, salad recipe

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 692kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3 cups fresh cauliflower florets
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/4 cup diced red onion
3-4 slices crisp-cooked bacon crumbled

DRESSING

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients.
In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower, broccoli and red onion together.
Add dressing, using only as much as you need--you may not have to use the entire amount.
Fold in the bacon.
Cover and chill for about 2-4 hours before serving.
Any remaining dressing may be stored, covered, in the fridge and used for other salads.

Nutrition

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Choose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 06 May 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Choose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

A creamy cauliflower side dish casserole where you choose the cheese. I chose blue cheese, what’s your choice?

First of all, I LOVE cauliflower. I could seriously eat it every day without ever getting tired of it. I remember seeing a casserole made with it and blue cheese quite a while ago on Recipe Lion. Search as I might, I could not find that particular casserole.

Whatever cheese you pick, it’s delicious

These types of casseroles are pretty much generic and if you can make a basic white sauce, you’re totally covered! Most recipes also called for a head of fresh, but I didn’t want to bother with that. I wanted to use frozen.

Deliciously buttery and cheesy

I started out with 1/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese, but a taste test proved this amount did not have enough “moxie” for my taste, so I increased it to 1/2 cup–which tasted like blue cheese but not enough to blow your socks off. If you want intense cheese flavor, add more–there’s really no limit.

Buttery and yummy crumbs

Since anything of this sort seems to taste better with buttered Ritz crumbs on top, I added those. The result? A side dish I could have eaten as a main course.

Don’t miss out on my Temp-Tations by Tara giveaway, details on the Cinnamon Raisin Bread post.

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The Recipe

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Choose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

A creamy cauliflower side dish casserole where you choose the cheese. I chose blue cheese, what’s your choice?

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Blue Cheese Cauliflower Casserole, Cauliflower, Cauliflower Casserole, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Blue Cheese, cauliflower, cauliflower casserole, cheese casserole

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 16 oz frozen cauliflower florets each
2 1/2 cups milk
5 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup blue cheese -OR- Swiss cheese -OR- Asiago cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
salt*

TOPPING

1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers crushed
2 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

*Add desired amount of salt to the sauce AFTER you've added the cheese and the cheese has melted. Blue cheese, for example, is quite salty so you may not need to add.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray a 2-quart baking dish.
Shred or crumble any cheese you are using.
Partially cook cauliflower by placing frozen florets in a deep saucepan and covering with water. You can add a tsp of salt if you wish. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Drain and place in prepared baking dish.
Melt the 3 tbs of butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and blend (this is a roux). When roux begins to bubble, slowly add the milk, while constantly stirring, to prevent lumps. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and add whichever cheese you are using. Stir until cheese is melted (yes, you can use more or less cheese depending on your taste). Correct any seasoning at this point.
Pour sauce over cauliflower in baking dish.
Mix topping ingredients and distribute over top of casserole.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until completely heated through and sauce bubbles.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Nutrition

Chose-Your-Cheese Cauliflower Casserole

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Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole: Meatless Monday

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole

Here we go with our premier entry for Meatless Mondays! They’ll be coming back for more with this one, and will NEVER miss the meat.

With ever-increasing food prices, we are ALL trying to save whatever we can. One way of doing this is to eat meatless meals once or twice a week. Meat prices have become outrageous lately, and there’s no let up that I’ve seen.

Admittedly, my tastes have changed as I’ve gotten older. I’ve heard this from a couple of friends too. One friend told me she and her husband go meatless at least once a week. The reason is their tastes before budgetary reasons. They aren’t even toying with the idea of becoming vegetarians or vegans either. It’s just what they prefer. I find the same thing has happened with me.

Eliminating meat or fish doesn’t mean a dish can’t be satisfying and filling. Macaroni and Cheese is the absolute GRANDADDY of meatless meals, and that’s been satisfying families at mealtimes almost forever!

I’ve always loved cauliflower and any casserole it has been in. Mine has cheese, but not the usual cheese–I substituted the usual cheddar or Swiss with Asiago. However, you can take this recipe and substitute the cheese of your choice.

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Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole

This cauliflower casserole makes a great side dish OR a fantastic meatless main dish.

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: casserole recipe, cauliflower casserole, meatless casserole recipes

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 308kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower * 2 lbs fresh cauliflower
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp chopped onion
4 tbsp butter divided
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese divided
3-4 cups croutons plain
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Separate cauliflower into individual florets–try to keep them uniform in size, approximately 1-2 inches across at the head.
Place florets in a large pot, cover with water and add 1 tsp kosher salt. Bring to boil, cover and cook 5-10 minutes. I cooked mine for about 8 minutes till they were crisp/tender. Remember they will have additional cooking in the oven.
Spray an 11 x 7-inch casserole with non-stick spray. Place cauliflower in prepared baking dish, making an even layer across the bottom. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tbs butter. Add the peppers, onion and mushrooms to pan and saute until tender.
Add flour to pan with vegetables and blend well. Add the milk gradually, stirring constantly until well blended and there are no lumps. Add salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add 3/4 cup of the cheese to the sauce. Stir until cheese melts.
Pour cheese/vegetable sauce over cauliflower, distributing the sauce evenly over the cauliflower. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Melt the remaining 1 tbsp of butter.
Remove the casserole from the oven, uncover and distribute croutons evenly over the top. Drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of the cheese then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.
Return to oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and croutons are golden brown.
Serves 6-8 as a SIDE or 4-6 as a MAIN.

Notes

**Frozen cauliflower of equal measure may be substituted for fresh. Cook until crisp/tender, about 3 minutes**

Nutrition

Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole

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