Cauliflower boiled briefly, covered in a béchamel made with garlic, scattered with cheese and finished under the grill.
Drain it and let it steam dry
Water is the enemy again. Cauliflower that goes into the dish still wet releases that water into the béchamel in the oven, and a sauce that was thick when you made it comes out thin and grey.
Drain it properly, then leave it in the colander for a couple of minutes so the residual heat evaporates what is left. It is a small step and it decides how the dish looks.
Boil it briefly
The cauliflower goes into the oven for ten minutes and under the grill for three more, so it carries on cooking. Boiling it until soft first gives a gratin of collapsed mush.
A few minutes, until a knife goes in with some resistance still there, is enough.
The béchamel in three moves
- Equal butter and flour, cooked together for a minute so the flour loses its raw taste.
- Cold milk into the hot roux, added gradually while stirring. This is the reliable way to avoid lumps.
- Season at the end, with salt, pepper and nutmeg, which is the classic béchamel spice.
The garlic goes in first, cooked in a little of the butter before the flour, which is what makes this a garlic béchamel rather than a plain one.
Grill at the end
The last three minutes under direct heat is what makes it a gratin rather than a bake. It browns the cheese and gives the top the patchy dark surface that is the point of the dish.
Watch it: three minutes under a grill is the difference between browned and burnt.
More cauliflower
- Cauliflower cream soup — where the stems go.
- Cauliflower rice — grated and fried.
- Cauliflower fritters — battered.
- Cauliflower pizza base — the same grating.
Cauliflower Gratin FAQ
The cauliflower was still wet. Water clinging to the florets goes into the béchamel as it bakes and thins it. Drain it properly and leave it a couple of minutes so the residual heat evaporates the rest.
Only a few minutes, until a knife goes in with some resistance. It cooks for another thirteen in the oven and under the grill, so cauliflower boiled until soft collapses into mush.
Equal amounts of butter and flour cooked together for a minute, then cold milk added gradually while stirring. Cold milk into a hot roux disperses evenly; hot milk into hot roux is where lumps come from.
Nutmeg is the classic one, grated fresh if possible. Salt and white pepper are the rest of it. This version also cooks garlic in the butter first, which is not standard but works well with cauliflower.
No, and the card previously said so. Two medium cauliflowers with half a litre of béchamel make about six generous servings as a main, or four if it is the centre of the meal.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium cauliflowers (broken into florets)
- 50 g mozzarella or parmesan cheese (grated, for the top)
- Black pepper
For the béchamel
- ½ liter milk (cold, added to the hot roux)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons flour (equal to the butter)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Salt, to taste
- Spices, to taste (nutmeg is the classic one)
Notas
Instructions
- Wash the cauliflowers well, drain them and cut them into small florets. Rinse them again to get rid of any grit.
- Bring 2 cups of water to the boil in a pot, add the cauliflower with a pinch of salt and boil briefly, until just tender. Drain it thoroughly.
- In a pan, melt half a tablespoon of the butter with the garlic and cook until golden. Add the rest of the butter and the flour, cook for a minute, then pour in the cold milk and stir until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper and spices.
- Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Put the cauliflower in an ovenproof dish, spread the sauce over it and scatter the cheese on top.
- Bake for about 10 minutes with heat above and below, then grill for three minutes to brown the top.
- Serve hot, while the cheese still stretches.
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