Cauliflower…never been a real fan to be honest. Wow. A food I haven’t loved. This is a first for me…well, there was an incident in my childhood involving beets at the dinner table but I’ll spare you the details.
Thanks to a friend who opened my eyes to the joy of cauliflower when it’s drenched in sauce! She told me about Ina Garten’s Cauliflower Gratin recipe and how much her family ADORED it. So, I tweaked a few things using cashew milk as the sauce base. Wowza! Instant veggie-love. I’ve made it several times and my kids always cheer. I made it for Thanksgiving and my big brother, (one of three) who is NOT a cauliflower fan (and very lactose intolerant) loved it.
I use a combination of raw cheddar cheese and either Pecorino Romano or Parmesan in the sauce. The raw cheddar doesn’t bother my girlie (or any of us for that matter) but if you’re worried about using it, you can just use all Romano/Parmesan or leave the cheese out entirely. The cashew cream is tasty on its own.
The cauliflower gets topped with breadcrumbs made from my Yummy Grain Free Bread.
Mangia!
Shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Wheat Free Wednesday and Gluten Free Fridays…
- 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 3 tablespoons ghee (or olive oil or butter), divided
- 2 cups cashew milk
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shredded raw cheddar cheese (optional)
- ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan (optional)
- 2 slices Yummy Grain Free Bread, toasted
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower florets and cook 5-6 minutes. Drain. Run cold water over cauliflower and drain again. (Or drench in an ice water bath. Drain well.)
- Place well-drained cauliflower in a small casserole dish (glass pie pan or quiche dish works well too).
- Melt 2 tablespoons ghee in a medium saucepan. Add cashew milk, pepper, nutmeg and salt. Whisk and bring to a boil. Add cheese(s) if using and continue whisking until thickened to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes. Don’t let it get too thick and gloppy. If it’s too thick, add some water or more cashew milk to thin out.
- Pour sauce over cauliflower and give a little stir to make sure it’s all coated.
- Pulse toasted grain free bread in a mini food processor or just break it up with a fork in a small bowl. Sprinkle crumbs on top of cauliflower and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of melted ghee.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Hey there! What’s the difference between raw and regular cheese…? I assume I can use regular and it will act the same in the recipe? (Remember, I DON’T have the cooking gene. You got mine!)
Raw cheese is made using raw milk, not pasteurized, which means the enzymes haven’t been destroyed in the process. With the enzymes still intact, it’s easier for us lactose-intolerant peeps to digest without any funny business, if ya know what I mean…
If regular cheese can be tolerated, it can be substituted with no problem. And I’d take your cooking any day!
XOXOXO!
YUM, I have some cauliflower in the fridge to use up! This will be perfect!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
I’d love for you to link this up at our Gluten Free Fridays party this week! Its live now! I hope you make it this week!
I’ve linked it up! Thanks so much for the reminder that it’s live. I love looking and trying great new GF recipes!
XO
Jen
PS – LOVE the new badges!
Thank you for the new badge love! Its always good to switch it up a bit
I am So excited to try this!! 
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest!
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
See you at the link up this week! We are having a special giveaway this week! Its a tote bag filled with some Gluten Free Allergy Friendly goodies!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Thanks Cindy! I hope you enjoy it – let me know how it works out for ya-
XO
Jen
Jen – this is the best cauliflower that I have ever eaten. Umm, it may be the only good cauliflower that I have ever eaten! We like it so much that I am going to get some and make it this coming week!
What’s up pretty lady.
I’m featuring this awesome recipe tonight on AFW. I often think if we ever got together in a kitchen, awesomeness would ensue!
Hope you’re having a great week.
Hugs,
-Amber
Amber-guuuuurl – you are tooo kind! Thank you so much for featuring the recipe!! I hope people will try it and enjoy.
And if we ever got in a kitchen together, I’d be watching and learning, girl, watching and learning from the best!
Hugs back acha-
XO
Jen
Hi,
Right on about not loving cauliflower. I’ve recently seen so many recipes with it that I think it’s time to try it again. Loved looking around your site!
Megan
I picked your recipe as one of my favorites from last week’s Gluten Free Fridays link up! We have “featured on” badges available here: http://vegetarianmamma.com/gluten-free-fridays/ You are welcome to them, if you’d like. If not, no worries….just wanted to let you know I thought your entry was awesome!
See you this week!
Cindy
Thanks Cindy! I’d love the button!!! For some reason, I’ve had problems trying to get it up on my site. (DOH) I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! I’ll try again. Thanks so much for picking my recipe.
XO
Jen
Cindy –
Thanks so much for picking my recipe! I’ve got the great-looking new badge already up on my site. I’ll link up with another goodie tomorrow. Thanks again-
XO
Jen