Cauliflower Cheese With Chorizo - Sent In By Hidden Mouse Sleeping Kitten

Hidden Mouse Sleeping Kitten's Vague Measurement Cauliflower Cheese (with Chorizo).

Serves two (probably).
Good stodge-athon after a lovely walk outside/Comfort food
Saucepan Intensive!

Ingredients:

One large cauliflower head (nice looking, clean, respectable)
Grated cheese – as much as you want (cheddar or other favourite cheese)
One large onion
Chorizo – as much as you want
Milk (about a pint but have excess available)
2 tablespoons of flour (any kind will do)
2 tablespoons of butter
Nutmeg (whole or grated – whole preferably)
Pepper (fresh ground if available)
Fresh or dried chillis (optional)
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

Heat oven to 180oC ish.

Grate cheese.

Chop onion.

Slice chorizo thinly (for the dentally challenged, you may wish to remove the skin – but I never bother).

Chop chilli.

Wash the cauliflower, remove all green bits (chuck in the compost) & neatly chop the white stuff into bite-sized chunks.

Boil a saucepan of water & then add in the chopped cauliflower. Boil for five minutes & then drain. Place cauliflower in an ovenproof casserole dish and set aside.

In another saucepan (or the original pan, dried), melt the butter & then stir in the flour. On a low heat, add more butter or flour until you get a thick smooth gloopy paste. This is the basis of your cheese sauce. Keep stirring, don’t let it burn or lumpify (this is why you chop everything first).

On an even heat, pour in a bit of milk & keep stirring until it thickens up. Pour in a bit more & repeat. Keep stirring. Repeat this until you have lots of sauce (or run out of milk). Keep stirring. Grate in some fresh nutmeg, or add a couple of pinches of ready ground nutmeg. Keep stirring. Grind in as much pepper as you want. Now add the grated cheese & stir it all in until it melts. Turn off the heat, or you will have to keep stirring!

Meanwhile, with your other set of hands, fry the onion, chorizo & chopped chillis together with a smidgin of olive oil (the sausage is quite oily anyway). After five minutes (or when the onion looks nice & soft, mix the whole lot into the cheese sauce & turn the heat on for a bit to let the flavours permeate.

Dump the sauce/chorizo/onion mix over the top of the cauliflower in your casserole dish. Add more pepper & the Parmesan cheese if desired.

Pop it all in the centre of your pre-heated oven for about 45 mins, or until the cheese on top is all golden & bubbly.

Eat it you fool!