Baked cauliflower gratin with béchamel sauce

How to make cauliflower gratin.

I invite you to cook a healthy, simple and suitable dish for all those who do not run away when at home they say “Cauliflower today!” .

My father recently received the last cauliflowers of the season. We can find it from November to March remember to eat seasonal products.

It is the best way to eat without losing the best properties of fruits and vegetables and at the cheapest price.

Cauliflower is a vegetable from the eastern Mediterranean regions, specifically from the near east (Asia Minor, Lebanon and Syria).

In ancient times it was not consumed as food, it was used to treat some diseases such as headaches or diarrhea , I do not know if it is effective although it is not the best vegetable for gas issues, I warn you. The first to cultivate it for daily consumption were the Romans who later spread it throughout the Mediterranean.

It was in the 16th century when its cultivation reached France and England and from there to the rest of Europe, although it did not reach Spain extensively until the 17th century.

In our country, the most common and consumed variety is white cauliflower . Its white color is due to the fact that the farmers unite the green leaves that surround it above the bush, thus preventing the entry of the sun and inhibiting the development of chlorophyll, a pigment that gives them its green color.

The truth is that this is how I assure you that you are successful at home, a healthy dish and that children love it. I hope you like it and prepare it at home.

Cauliflower preparation. Base ingredients

1. We begin by chopping the cauliflower into the different segments or bouquets that compose it, leaving just a little stem (just enough so that they do not fall apart), as you can see in the photo.
2. We wash them well and put them to cook in a large saucepan with boiling water and salt to taste.
3. To mitigate the unpleasant odor that cooking may generate, we add half a glass of milk to the water.
4. With this trick we will make the aroma almost priceless. We cook for 15 minutes and reserve the cauliflower sprigs.
5. We cut the salty bacon into small pieces and sauté it in a frying pan along with a minced garlic clove.
6. There is no need for oil because the bacon is going to release part of its fat, with 5 minutes it would be more than enough to have our rehash ready. We do not add salt since the bacon provides enough.
7. In this recipe we have used some “ration” clay pots, but you can use a large oven tray instead.
8. If there are only one or two at home, the individual portions are more practical.
9. Now we prepare the bechamel .

Cauliflower gratin and final presentation

1. We preheat the oven for 5 minutes at 180º C.
2. We put the cauliflower in the casserole or source, pour over the bacon sauce and cover everything with the béchamel sauce.
3. Bake 8 minutes at 180º C in the middle of the oven with the heat above, below and air.
4. In the final minutes we give a touch of gratin with the grill for 4 minutes in the upper part of the oven.
5. It is a dish that is recommended to eat warm, to take advantage of the creaminess of the bechamel as soon as it comes out of the oven and comfort us on cold days.
6. You can take it both as a first course or as the only meal for a light dinner.

A very simple recipe and a spectacular result. Now to cook and … bon appetit!

You can see all the step by step photos of this easy gratin cauliflower recipe in this album. Do not miss any detail and you will get a yummy recipe.

Tips for a yummy cauliflower gratin

• This recipe can be tuned with the ingredients that you like the most. You can make it in cream or puree, cooked with the bacon as in this case or with a mince of chorizo ​​or pieces of ham .
• Change the bechamel for your favorite cheese, even when gratin with the bechamel , add the cheese to make it creamier
• Freeze perfectly, so if you want to make a quantity there is no problem, since then you can keep it in containers suitable for freezing and have it ready for another occasion. Remember to defrost the day before and in the fridge.
• Dishes with cauliflower are characterized by the intense “aroma” (rather pestazo) that they give off during cooking. For this reason, cauliflower can be unpleasant for many people, especially children.
• That is why in this recipe we recommend adding a little milk in the cooking to mitigate much of the smell. Another trick that can be used is to add a potato or an apple. Of course, despite the tricks, if you are going to cook cauliflower it is advisable not to cover the casserole because its intense aroma can affect the taste.
• Once at home the cauliflower has to be kept in the fridge wrapped in a perforated plastic bag. In this way you can preserve its nutritional qualities for a week. It is advisable not to wash it until the moment it is going to be consumed.
• It is a great source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, magnesium, potassium and calcium, and it also has antioxidant properties that help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.