Vegetarian cauliflower pie
Savoury, comforting cheesy goodness. This cauliflower pie is the perfect dish to eat when you want some comfort food. When I was just a small child, we would have vegetarian Mondays. And this pie was one of my all-time favourites. It has everything you could want: cheese, eggs, milk, pastry and cauliflower.
Cauliflower
I just love cauliflower, although it can be challenging to grow in your garden. Because pests like slugs and caterpillars like to eat some cauliflower too. It is such an intriguing vegetable to grow, the way you cover the flowers with the leaves so that it seems as is the plants have already been harvested. But it is exactly this covering of the leaves that ensure that the cauliflower can’t form any chlorophyll, which is why it is so pale.
And although the rule of thumb tends to be that the more colorful the vegetable, the more nutritious. I wouldn’t write off this scrumptious vegetable, because it has plenty of nutrients. It contains vitamin K and C and multiple antioxidants that fight off chronic diseases.
Also if you find that you hate the smell of boiled cauliflower, you are probably overcooking it. If you cook it only for 5 to 7 minutes or until just tender it won’t release those smelly compounds that cause that awful smell. And with the reduced cooking time, you will even retain more of that vitamin C that is in that cauliflower.
Bechamel sauce
For this pie, you make a bechamel sauce, which really is a lot easier than it seems. For some reason, people seem to think that making a bechamel sauce is complicated. But I assure you it’s not. The hardest part I find is pouring the milk slowly enough so it doesn’t lump.
You start off with some butter or oil that you warm-up, and then you add the same amount of plain flour. You stir that for a bit until it turns slightly golden brown, at which point you start adding the milk. You do this slowly so that the flour has time to thicken the milk, and you just keep stirring. And if you’re in any way afraid that you might get lumps, use a whisk instead of a regular spoon.
Enjoy your cauliflower pie
Enjoy this scrumptious pie by a nice warm fire if at all possible, or a nice lit candle if you have to forgo an open fire.
Please leave a comment on how you enjoyed this cauliflower pie.
And if you want another one of my favourite bakes then try my broccoli au gratin.
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Cauliflower pie
Equipment
- A round pie dish of 22 cm or a pie or baking dish that can hold about 1,5 liters.
Ingredients
Pastry
- 200 gr flour plain
- 100 gr butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp water
Filling
- 1 head cauliflower
- 300 ml milk
- 3 medium eggs
- 125 gr cheese any chedder you like to eat
- 25 gr butter
- 25 gr flour plain
- 1 stock cube
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C
Pastry
- Into a bowl mix the flour with the salt, then rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- At in the water a tablespoon at a time until it forms a ball of dough.
- Let rest covered in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- roll out and cover a pie dish that is greased and floured.
Filling
- Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets, then cook in some boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes or until just tender.
- To make a roux, melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat and then add in the flour. Keep stirring the flour and butter mixture for about 2 to 3 minutes or turns slightly brown.
- Crumble the stock cube into the pan and slowly add the milk while you keep stirring to make the bechamel. Add it slowly so that no lumps form.
- Once all the milk is mixed in, keep stirring and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes. After that leave to cool for a bit while you grate the cheese.
- Once the cheese is grated and the bechamel sauce has cooled a bit. Add in the spices, eggs and cheese and mix well.
- Mix the cauliflower with the sauce so that everything is covered, then transfer into the dough lined pie dish.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the sauce has set and the top is golden brown.
