I decided to go for a little twist on my usual cauliflower cheese (a recipe you can see here which uses cauliflower/carrots/potato in a cheese sauce with bacon/mushrooms/onions, although it works rather well with a mixture of cauliflower and broccoli too) and use chorizo instead of bacon to spice things up. It was very nice but I did think it lacked the saltiness of the bacon so I'd do a mixture of half and half bacon and chorizo next time.
Cauliflower Cheese with Chorizo
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
200g mild chorizo
2 large onions
5 mushrooms
seasoning : garlic pepper, Italian seasoning, oregano
1 pint of cheese sauce (either from a packet or homemade, whatever you prefer)
150g grated cheese
Cook the cauliflower in boiling salted water for 8 minutes until tender but still quite firm. Drain and place in an ovenproof dish.
Chop and gently fry the chorizo for 3 minutes, add the onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring every now and then, for a further 5 minutes. Drain any excess oil and reserve.
Make up the cheese sauce. You can use a packet mix if you're short on time but it's simple to make your own - melt a large knob of butter in a saucepan and stir in a few tablespoonfuls of flour. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring so it doesn't burn. Add a dash of milk and mix to a smooth paste before adding the rest of the pint of milk. Bring to the boil, stirring continually with a whisk or fork. When it rises up, reduce the heat, stir in the cheese and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until it thickens.
When the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat, add the seasoning, stir through the chorizo/onions/mushrooms then gently fold in the cooked cauliflower. Return to the dish, sprinkle with grated cheese and pop under the grill for 10 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
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Wow, absolutely lovely, I put chorizo and bacon in
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it :)
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