June '20 - Cauliflower Mac n' Cheese

What you see above is just using 1 head of cauliflower aka 4 servings. Note the reciepe if followed as below will make double.

Ingredients (makes about 8 servings):

• 2 heads of cauliflower (cleaned & cut into florets)

• 2 Tbsp butter (I used salted but you can use unsalted if you prefer)

• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

• 2 cups of milk

• 1-2 cloves or 1-2 tsp of garlic (minced)

• 1/3 - 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (its a sort of cheese flavoring found in the seasoning isle)

• 2 cups of sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

• 1/2 Tsp Harissa seasoning (if you don’t have you can skip but it adds a bit of smokiness and salt to the seasoning of the dish)

• dash of Worcestershire sauce

• pinch of crushed chili flakes or cayenne pepper

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs

• fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 350 F

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling add the clean cauliflower florets and cook until just about fork tender. Dont’ overcook at this step because we will be baking the dish later on and you don’t want it to be mushy) If cooking 2 head then that will be about 5-6mins, but if only cooking 1 head then 4-5 mins should do the trick.

• Drain the cauliflower BUT reserve 1 cup of that cooking liquid and set aside for a later step.

• In that already hot pot melt your butter, slowly whisk in the flour, and cook about 1 min stirring constantly so doesn’t burn.

• Next whisk in your milk, garlic, and 1/2-3/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Let this all cook and thicken again stirring pretty consistently for about 5-8mins. If your sauce is too thick go ahead and add the rest of the reserved cooking liquid, I just like to add slowly to control my consistency a bit more. In the end, I used a total of 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

• Now remove that pot from heat and stir in the shredded cheese, nutritional yeast, egg yolks, chili flakes or cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, Harissa seasoning, and black pepper to taste. Once that is fully melted then fold in your cooked cauliflower.

• Coat a 13x9” baking dish with cooking spray. Or if you are making a half batch then a 9” square or round dish will be sufficient. Spread the cauliflower mixture in the dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Either spray the breadcrumbs with a bit of cooking spray or brush with a bit of evoo or melted butter to help them toast in the baking process. Bake until everything is GBD (golden brown & delicious). For a larger pan maybe 25-30mins and a smaller pan 20-25mins.

• Enjoy while hot and bubbly