Cauliflower and Potato Gratin

Wondering what to cook?? something to fill the gap on this cold and wet day. So what vegetables should I use? Cauliflower.. its your lucky day .. cauliflower happens to be one of my favourite vegetables and potatoes well they are just any ones best friend making it a great accompaniment to any other vegetable. Now put them together and a match made. So I thought I will put together a gratin, adding some cream and cheese to bring all those flavours together. When I made this dish for the first time I realised that just adding the raw cauliflower and raw potatoes doesn’t let them soften enough, leaving you with a crunchy cauliflower which we definitely don’t want. That is why I think it is best to boil them just to give them a head start. I also feel this helps the sauce go right in to the cauliflower making it even tastier. In a dish like this you have to ensure that you season it enough and lets be generous on the cheese. Now I have decided to eat this as my main dish but when making a main course for a dinner party this dish makes a lovely but different side dish...

 

What you need to serve 4

·         1 large cauliflower

·         4 large potatoes or 8 small ones

·         1 onion

·         4 garlic cloves

·         150ml double cream

·         150ml milk ( I have used full fat )

·         2 tbsp crème fraiche

·         Butter ( to put on top of the breadcrumbs helping them golden )

·         50g breadcrumbs

·         100g grated cheese ( I have used cheddar )

·         Salt and pepper to season ( according to taste )

 

How to put together

Fill a large saucepan with water and put on the boil. In the mean time peel and slice the potatoes, cut the cauliflower in to even size florets. Once the water has come to the boil add both the potatoes and the cauliflower. Let this boil for 3 minutes. Drain and leave to one side. Chop the onion and garlic in to small pieces, in a saucepan add some olive oil and add the chopped onion and garlic. Fry this until it has started to golden. Once it has started to golden add the cream, milk and seasoning, let this simmer just for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Heat the oven on gas mark 4 or 180C.

In a medium sized roasting dish coat with olive oil then add the cauliflower to the bottom of the tray. Layer with the potatoes allowing them to overlap. Cover the dish with the cream and milk mixture. Then add the crème fraiche and top with breadcrumbs. Cover the breadcrumbs with the grated cheese and butter.

Bake the gratin in the oven for one hour

Just glorious !!