I found a very basic recipe for Cauliflower Gratin when flipping through Foot Network Magazine a couple of weeks ago. I unsheathed the recipe this morning when I was trying to finalize my Thanksgiving menu and found the recipe in a pile of recipes I had set aside. I had an extra bag of Riced Cauliflower I’d bought at Trader Joe’s when I’d been planning to make a Thai dish with cauliflower instead of rice. So when my stomach began grumbling today, I decided to fill its emptiness with this dish. It was very easy to make, especially because I didn’t have to rice my own cauliflower.
ingredients.
- 16 ounces riced cauliflower
- 1 c. cream
- 1 c. Dubliner cheese, shredded
- 1/4 c. butter
- salt and pepper to taste
directions.
- In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium-low heat until it begins to brown. Add the cauliflower and turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook until cauliflower begins to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the cream. The recipe I was falling called for heavy cream but I didn’t have any so I used half and half. Season with salt and pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg, if you so please. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Pour the mixture into an oven safe dish or individual oven safe dishes if you would like to make smaller individual portions. Top with cheese and broil until the cheese begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for five or so minutes until the dish doesn’t burn your mouth when you bite into it!
If you’re not overly fond of cauliflower, this is probably a good dish to ease yourself into the taste. If you love any gratin-style vegetable (as do I), you’ll love this dish. This recipe makes two large portions or four smaller portions, in my estimation.
If you can’t find riced cauliflower in the store or you don’t want to pay the additional expense for the convenience, you can easily rice your own cauliflower. Just grab a head of cauliflower and grate on the large holes of box grater. I’ve also used a food processor to get riced cauliflower. Cut down the cauliflower head into large florets and pulse until you have shreds of cauliflower that are the size of rice.
