How to Bake Cauliflower Casserole

Serves: 6-8

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients needed to make Cauliflower Casserole:

• 2 ½ lb cauliflower, chopped into 1’’ florets
• ¼ cup shallots, finely chopped
• 1 ½ cups panko
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cooking instructions for Cauliflower Casserole:

• Place a rack midway within your oven and warm it up to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a 13’’ X 9’’ baking dish with a small knob of butter and keep it aside until required.
• Fill a large pot with water and stir in 1 ½ tsp kosher salt.
• Heat it over at high flame until it starts boiling and drop in the cauliflower florets.
• Boil them for about 5 minutes or until they are cooked through and soften.
• Tip it into a colander to drain the veggie out and set aside.
• Reheat the pot to moderate heat and add 4 tbsp of butter into it.
• Melt the butter, until it froths up and throw in the shallots to stir fry for about 4 minutes or until they turn soft.
• Lower the heat to low and whisk in the flour gradually, until it rustic smell ebbs away.
• Cook for a minute and beat in milk until it the sauce is free of lumps.
• Spoon in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, cayenne pepper as well as a dash of seasonings and drop in a bay leaf.
• Stir them all together until well mixed and cook further for about 10-12 minutes, or until the sauce turns thick.
• Throw away the bay leaf and return the cooked cauliflower florets back into the pan.
• Give it a good stir to coat the florets well with the sauce and tip it into the buttered dish.
• Spread it across the dish and bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until its sides brown slightly.
• While the casserole bakes, melt rest of the butter in a pan over medium heat and stir in the panko, along with a dash of seasonings.
•  Cook the mixture for about 6-8 minutes or until it is toasted and attains a brownish tinge.
• Once the casserole is ready, set aside outside the oven for about 10 minutes and scatter the cooked panko on top.
• Serve warm.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Last Updated on March 4, 2013 by