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Whole roast cauliflower cheese
by Chetna Makan
Drizzled with a fennel-spiked, cheesy sauce, this whole roasted cauliflower makes a fine side dish for a roast, or a super weeknight supper in its own right with crusty bread
Gluten free
Serves4
CourseSide
Prepare10 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr
1 whole cauliflower, with tough outer leaves removed and base trimmed (keep most of the leaves intact)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp fennel
100ml double cream
100g Essential Cheddar, grated
50g Red Leicester, grated
¼ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ 25g pack chives, finely chopped to serve
Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Put the cauliflower in a pan of boiling water, then cover and cook for 5 minutes. Carefully lift out of the water and pat dry. Put the cauliflower in a snug-fitting roasting dish, drizzle over the oil and season with a little black pepper. Bake for 35 minutes until cooked through (a sharp knife should slide in with little resistance).
Ten minutes before the cauliflower is ready, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan, toast the fennel seeds over a medium heat until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Crush using a pestle and mortar, then return to the pan. Add the cream, both cheeses and the mustard, then cook over a low heat, stirring. Once the cheeses have melted, bubble for another 2 minutes over a low heat.
When the cauliflower is tender, drizzle over the cheese sauce and return to the oven for 5 minutes until golden and bubbling. Sprinkle the chives on top and serve straight away with roast meats, or simply with crusty bread to mop up the creamy sauce.
