Cauliflower cheese and white bean bake recipe
This is the ultimate in comfort food – cauliflower cheese reinvented as a legitimate meal. It’s just as comforting as the original, but with a touch more protein and a crisp breadcrumb topping. For a more substantial meal you could add cooked brown rice – just boil it in a separate pan while the first one is cooking, then stir it through before baking. You’ll need a bigger dish to accommodate it, though!
Tip: this will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, covered or stored in an airtight container. Reheat to piping hot to serve. Not recommended for freezing due to the high dairy content – you can, but it doesn’t show it at its best!
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, or 120g/4.2oz frozen diced onions
- 1 tbsp cooking oil, plus extra for greasing
- 1 x 400g/14oz tin of butter beans
- 1 x 400g/14oz tin of cannellini beans
- 500 ml chicken stock, or water and 1 stock cube
- 0.5 tsp mustard, any type
- 1 pinch grated nutmeg
- 1 large head of cauliflower, or 450g/16oz frozen cauli florets
- 120 g mature Cheddar, or similar
- 2 slices of bread, blitzed or grated to crumbs, or 4 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch each of salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large onion, or 120g/4.2oz frozen diced onions
- 1 tbsp cooking oil, plus extra for greasing
- 1 x 400g/14oz tin of butter beans
- 1 x 400g/14oz tin of cannellini beans
- 17.6 fl oz chicken stock, or water and 1 stock cube
- 0.5 tsp mustard, any type
- 1 pinch grated nutmeg
- 1 large head of cauliflower, or 450g/16oz frozen cauli florets
- 4.2 oz mature Cheddar, or similar
- 2 slices of bread, blitzed or grated to crumbs, or 4 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch each of salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large onion, or 120g/4.2oz frozen diced onions
- 1 tbsp cooking oil, plus extra for greasing
- 1 x 400g/14oz tin of butter beans
- 1 x 400g/14oz tin of cannellini beans
- 2.1 cups chicken stock, or water and 1 stock cube
- 0.5 tsp mustard, any type
- 1 pinch grated nutmeg
- 1 large head of cauliflower, or 450g/16oz frozen cauli florets
- 4.2 oz mature Cheddar, or similar
- 2 slices of bread, blitzed or grated to crumbs, or 4 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch each of salt and pepper, to taste
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Cauliflower
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 35 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- First peel and finely slice your onion and add to a large nonstick pan, or shake in the frozen onions if using those instead. Add a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt and cook gently over low heat for 5 minutes to start to soften.
- Drain and thoroughly rinse your beans and tip them into the pan. Cover with the stock (or water and a stock cube), then add the mustard and nutmeg. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
- Make sure there is a shelf in the middle, then turn your oven on to 180°C/160°C fan/356°f/gas mark 4.
- Lightly grease a decent-sized ovenproof dish – anything around 20cm x 20cm (8inches x 8inches), so anything around this size, or a medium cake tin or pie dish, will do.
- Remove the outer leaves of your cauliflower. Cut the heavy stalk from the bottom and chop the cauli into small florets – as a rough guide, the top should be no bigger than a 50p piece so they cook evenly. It makes it easier to eat as well.
- Add the cauli to the pan and stir through. Cover to retain as much of the remaining liquid as possible, then cook for 15 minutes, or until the cauli is soft and a fork gently prodded into it goes through with little to no resistance.
- Tip the contents of the pan into your prepared dish. Grate cheese over the veg and top with breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp the crumbs and melt the cheese, then serve immediately with extra black pepper on top.
This recipe is from Good Food for Bad Days by Jack Monroe, and is available to buy now. (Bluebird, £7.99).
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Cauliflower soup with cheese twirls
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