Supercharged Cauliflower (No) Cheese
- Serves 6
- Prep in 2 hours
- Cook in 20 minutes
I love cauliflower & need no excuse to have it as the main player in pretty much any meal.
Case in point being these GLORIOUS crispy cauliflower steaks.
For those less cruciferously inclined however I know cauliflower cheese can be a winning way to sneak this beauty into meals without backlash but the original imagining is a bit … well it’s not exactly winning any nutritional awards now is it.
So I made my own. And I made it green. And it is delicious.
You can also of course use actual cheese if you so desire.
Key Facts
- Family Friendly
- Prep Ahead
- Freezer Friendly (The Sauce)
Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews
250g asparagus spears OR 1 bunch parsley
3 large broccoli florets
2 large garlic cloves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 heaped tablespoons nutritional yeast or grated Parmesan
Pinch each salt & pepper
Avocado oil
1 medium cauliflower
Preparation
- 01
Add your cashews to a bowl or jug, pour over 4 cups of boiling water & leave to soak for at least 1 hour covered with a lid (if leaving for longer than 4 hours then use cold water, they can then be left to soak for 8-12 hours).
- 02
When you are ready to make your sauce trim the tough bottom ½ cm of stalk from your asparagus & discard these, then separate the delicate tips (top ~6cm) from the remaining stalks. If using broccoli roughly chop the florets.
- 03
Pop a pan of water onto boil & once bubbling drop in the asparagus stalks/broccoli, cook for 2 minutes then drain & run under cold water to stop them cooking further.
- 04
Drain & rinse your cashews, add them to a high speed blender with the quickly blanch veg, garlic, nutritional yeast/parmesan, parsley if using, salt, pepper & lemon juice. Blend until silky & smooth, test the seasoning & adjust if necessary.
You can freeze the sauce at this point for up to 3 months
- 05
Preheat your oven to 200C, use a piece of kitchen paper to lightly grease a medium casserole dish with avocado oil.
- 06
Chop your cauliflower into equal chunks of about 4-5cm. Drop into a pan of boiling water & quickly blanch for 3 minutes. Drain & leave to steam for at least 10-15 minutes to avoid the sauce being watered down.
- 07
Tip back into the pan & stir through your sauce, decant it all into your casserole dish & bake in the upper part of the oven for 15-18 minutes until bubbling & crisp on the top.
- 08
Serve straight away, any leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4 days.
