Cauliflower and potatoes au gratin (baked). Cauliflower with potatoes and béchamel baked in the oven are perfect to serve as a vegetarian main course or an appetizing side dish! I love preparing easy and quick cauliflower recipes, a versatile, tasty, healthy, and fiber-rich vegetable that lets you bring dinner to the table without spending much, or prepare first courses, sides, mains, and delicious appetizers like Cauliflower Croquettes, White Cauliflower Pasta or Cauliflower Casserole without béchamel and the very tasty Braised Cauliflower. So today I’ll tell you how I make super creamy and delicious cauliflower and potatoes au gratin, a recipe my children really enjoy even though they don’t usually like vegetables, especially cauliflower. Let’s go to the kitchen now; I’m certain this recipe will enjoy the same success in your home as it always does in mine. Before we get to the stove, as always I remind you that if you want to stay updated on new recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here)
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter and Spring
Ingredients to make cauliflower and potatoes au gratin
- 3 1/3 cups milk
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup Grana Padano, grated (or Parmesan)
- 2 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2.2 lbs cauliflower
- 1 3/4 lbs potatoes
- 14 oz provola cheese (or caciotta, or stretched-curd cheese)
- béchamel (all of the béchamel you have prepared)
Tools
- Baking dish
- Bowl
- Pots
- Slotted spoons
- Whisk
Steps
To make the cauliflower and potatoes au gratin, start by preparing a rich and flavorful béchamel: melt the butter in a saucepan and wait until it takes on a light hazelnut color. Add the flour, stirring and letting it cook for about ten seconds, then, while whisking quickly, add the milk little by little,
avoiding lumps. Finish with a light sprinkle of salt, enough pepper and nutmeg, place over medium heat and let the sauce thicken (it should remain fairly fluid — a too-thick béchamel is not recommended for this recipe). Off the heat, add the grated cheese and mix well.
With the béchamel ready, move on to the cauliflower and then the potatoes: separate the cauliflower into florets, rinse them and plunge them into lightly salted boiling water.
Blanch the florets for about ten minutes; they should be cooked but still quite firm. While the florets are cooking, peel the potatoes, rinse them and cut them into chunks,
then blanch them in the same water used for the cauliflower for about ten minutes. Like the cauliflower, they should be almost cooked but still firm and compact. Collect the cauliflower and potatoes in the same bowl, pour in 2/3 of the béchamel you just made and mix.
Spread half of the mixture into a large baking dish and enrich it with sliced cheese and a sprinkle of pepper.
Pour the remaining potatoes and cauliflower on top and cover with the remaining béchamel. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 392°F, removing from the oven when you see a delicious golden crust form. Let rest for about ten minutes before serving.
Cauliflower and potatoes au gratin with béchamel are very good right after baking and after a short rest. If you want to prepare them in advance, assemble them in the morning or the night before, cover with plastic wrap and bake shortly before serving.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days, well sealed in an airtight container and reheated before eating.
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