Cauliflower au gratin is a very easy and tempting recipe to prepare both as a side dish and as a main dish, and we can propose it for both lunch and dinner. The béchamel that covers the cauliflower helps to create a delicious and fragrant crust. This tantalizing dish is prepared in about an hour.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
- 1 Cauliflower (large)
- 2 cups Milk
- 3 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Butter
- to taste Fine salt
- to taste Nutmeg
- to taste Ground pepper
- 3 tbsp Cheese (grated)
- 3.5 oz Smoked provolone
- 5 Sun-dried tomatoes
Preparation
1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the sun-dried tomatoes.
2) Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower. Rinse it under running water and divide it into florets.
3) Once the water boils, remove the sun-dried tomatoes and add the cauliflower florets, letting them blanch for no more than 4 minutes. Finally, drain them thoroughly and place them in a bowl.
Finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and add them to the blanched cauliflower.
4) Prepare the béchamel sauce. In a saucepan, completely melt the butter over low heat. Then, add the sifted flour and stir quickly for about 30 seconds (to ensure the flour cooks).
5) Add the milk all at once and stir. Keeping the heat low, add salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Stir until the béchamel coats the spoon and begins to thicken.
6) Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature.
7) Pour the hot béchamel over the cauliflower (set aside 4 tablespoons), the grated cheese, and the diced provolone. Mix all the ingredients to distribute them evenly.
8) Pour everything into a baking dish (or individual ramekins), sprinkle with the remaining béchamel and a few more tablespoons of grated cheese. Bake on the lowest rack of the preheated oven and let it gratin for about 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cauliflower au gratin cool for a few minutes before serving.
