Creamy Cauliflower in a Mold
Ingredients
- For the Mold
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup plain fine bread crumbs
- 1 head (2 pounds ) cauliflower, cored and outer leaves removed and florets cut into small 11/4-inch pieces
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons minced parsley
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese
- 1/2 cup Montasio cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Grinding black pepper
- For the White Sauce
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Half ‘n Half
- 1 cup reserved cauliflower cooking water
- 1 teaspoons find sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- Ingredients
Directions
- Brush a 9 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch deep spring form pan or soufflé-type pan with the melted butter and coat it with the breadcrumbs. Shake out any loose crumbs and refrigerate the mold until ready to fill.
- Fill a large pot with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the florets, cover the pot and cook until the florets are very tender, about 6 minutes.
- Drain the cauliflower, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
- Transfer the cauliflower to a food processor and pulse several times until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender to smooth out the cauliflower. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl and whisk in the eggs, parsley, cheeses, salt and pepper.
- Cover and refrigerate while you make the sauce.
- In a medium size pan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste. Whisk in the Half ‘n Half and reserved water. Whisk in the salt and nutmeg and cook until the mixture thickens.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Transfer the sauce to the bowl with cauliflower and combine well. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 20 to 45 minutes or until the sformato sets and is lightly browned.
- Remove the sformato from the oven and scoop from the pan to serve or, if using a spring form pan, wait 5 minutes, then unlatch the sides and lift off. Cut into sedges to serve.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
This recipe was featured on Season 22 - Episode 2224.
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Comments
Jeaneene
This woman makes things that sing with flavor. Fast food? Not necessarily, but definitely fun food. I love the things she makes and will get this book!
Ruth
I just love Mary Ann’s recipes and I want to make her “creamy cauliflower in a mold” but I have not been able to find Montasio cheese after searching several different specialty groceries. I live in the Chicago area so you wouldn’t think this would be difficult. Can I substitute some other cheese? Since I’m not familiar with Montasio I’m not sure what to do. I read online it’s like a Swiss cheese but one store clerk told me it’s like Parmesan, another store clerk told me it’s like Piave, which I’m not familiar with (they didn’t have Piave either).
trudy
I actually made this today it was delicious. I didnt have that cheese but I used romano cheese and it was great.the family said I found another way to make cauliflower and they loved it!!!!
jennifer_hart
This turned out lovely! I didn’t have the specified cheeses so i used what i had…..peccorino romano, asiago, and velveeta! I will say that the amount of salt called for was way too much for me. Next time i will reduce by half. Next time i am at the european market i will buy the specified cheeses and bake it again. Very, very nice!