I love cooking with the seasons and Cauliflower is readily available and in season right throughout the early Winter. So, I had the idea of combining one of the great comfort dishes of Winter with some lovely Beef and Horseradish sausages from our favourite butcher Mansion Farm Shop (mansionfarmshop) . For texture, I also added some green with the kale crisps from my garden, which is bang in season too. Of course, if you are Vegetarian, just leave out the meat and you have a fantastic Veggie supper.
Ingredients: (serves 2-4 depending on appetite)
- 6 Beef and Horseradish Sausages from Mansion Farm.
- 1 large Cauliflower
- 2 teaspoons of Dry English Mustard (or Dijon if you prefer)
- 60g Butter
- 50g Plain flour
- 450ml full milk (you can used semi skimmed if you wish)
- 200g grated Cheddar
- Pinch of Cayenne pepper (or Sweet Paprika for less heat)
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste.
- Chopped chives (optional)
- Large bunch of Kale
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
Method:
- Pre Heat your oven to 200c / 180c fan /Gas 6
- Cook the sausages either in the oven or by frying them gently in a little olive oil on the stove. Once cooked keep warm.
- Trim the cauliflower and cut into florets. Steam them or par-boil until just tender but still with a bit of crunch in them – around 10mins to steam or 7mins boil. Drain and then leave to dry.
- For the Cheese Sauce:
- In a saucepan, on a medium heat melt the butter and then stir in the flour and cook for a minute (this gets rid of the floury taste).
- Add 2 teaspoons of dry English mustard, a pinch of cayenne and some black pepper and stir to combine. This is the roux.
- Slowly add 450ml of milk whisking all the time to break up any lumps.
- When it has thickened. stir in the 150g (3/4) of the grated cheddar.
- Check the cheese sauce for seasoning and adjust to taste.
- Assemble the dish by spreading the cauliflower florets in an ovenproof baking dish.
- Add the cooked Sausages to the dish amongst the cauliflower florets (see tips).
- Spoon the sauce over the florets and sausage and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the top.
- Bake for about 30mins until the cheese sauce is bubbling and starting to colour on top.
- Remove from the oven, rest for a few minutes and then sprinkle some chopped chives over the top. Serve with the Kale crisps.
Tips:
- Try warming the milk before adding to the roux and infusing a bay leaf or a garlic clove into it for added flavour.
- You can choose to serve the sausages on the side and not in the sauce if you wish. We were divided on which version we liked best.
If you want some extra crunch you can sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top of the cauliflower cheese before putting it in the oven
Kale Chips/Crisps
These Kale chips can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container. They are a fantastic healthy alternative to potato crisps and make a great topping for soups and work really well with this Cauliflower Cheese and Sausage recipe.
- Pre Heat oven to 150c/130c fan/Gas2
- Remove the tough stalks from the kale leaves and then tear or cut the leaves into crisp size pieces
- Wash and dry thoroughly with kitchen towel.
- In a large bowl add a tablespoon of olive oil to the kale chips and toss and massage the oil into the leaves
- Spread the kale out in a single layer on a baking tray season well with Salt and Pepper and bake in the oven for 20 mins.
- Remove and let the kale completely cool before putting in airtight container.
