Cauliflower, Cheese + Pasta x2 🌞

[justaprogressive]

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

This is pure, unadulterated comfort in a bowl. And you can choose whether to
add actual noodles to this or not—it tastes amazing either way.

MAKES: 6 cups with pasta; 4 cups without pasta | PREP TIME: 10 minutes |

COOK TIME: 30 minutes, plus 20 minutes for making pasta

1 cup dry pasta
1 recipe Roasted Cauliflower Florets
1 recipe Béchamel Sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 cups grated cheese, divided
sea salt and freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions and set
aside.
3. Toss the pasta with the roasted cauliflower and transfer
to a ceramic baking dish.
4. Meanwhile, make your Béchamel Sauce, and when the
sauce coats the back of the spoon, stir in the Dijon
mustard and slowly add 3 cups of cheese by the handful.
5. Season the sauce with sea salt and freshly ground
pepper to taste if it needs more seasoning. Pour the
cheese sauce over the cauliflower and pasta, and top
with remaining cup of cheese.
6. Bake for 30 minutes until browned on top.

NOTE: Even if you use pasta, this can be keto- and paleofriendly.
Cybele’s makes a pasta completely from green lentils, cauliflower,
and parsnips, and it works exceptionally well in this recipe.

Mac and cheese always tastes better if you use high quality cheese,
and if you use more than one type of cheese. Cheeses that work well
include cheddar, Gouda, all Swiss cheeses, and mozzarella. Great
(or grate!) add-in cheeses for zips of flavor include Parmigiano-Reggiano,
Pecorino Romano, fresh chèvre, and blue cheeses.Parmesan and other
hard Italian cheeses taste amazing when sprinkled on top, too.

If you don’t want black flecks of pepper to be seen, use
white pepper instead.

********************************************************************************

Loaded Cauliflower

My friend Susan, who works with dairy farmers, makes a version of this recipe
for just about every holiday, and her family raved about it so much that I had to
come up with my own recipe (she basically throws ingredients together without
measuring). It’s the perfect side dish for any occasion.

MAKES: 8 (½-cup) servings | PREP TIME: 5 minutes | COOK TIME: 40 minutes

1 head cauliflower broken into florets (about 4 cups)
olive oil spray or 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 green onions, diced
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment
paper. Spread the florets onto the parchment sheet.
Spray them with olive oil spray or brush with olive oil,
then sprinkle sea salt on top.

3. Bake for 35 minutes, until slightly browned and
definitely tender. Remove from oven. Let cool about 5
minutes.

4. Transfer the florets to a large bowl and toss with the
sour cream, half of the cheese, and all of the green
onions.

5. Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish, then top with
the bacon and remaining cheddar cheese.6. Broil on high
for about 5 minutes until the cheese has melted and is bubbling,
remove from oven, and sprinkle with chives.

from "Cauliflower Comfort Food" By: Jeanette Hurt
https://www.booktopia.com.au/cauliflower-comfort-food-jeanette-hurt/book/9781646040223.html

Enjoy!

[wendyb-NC]

1. Those dishes look scrumptious

I am bookmarking so I can write them down. I want to try them. Thank you for posting.