Cauliflower Gratin

Cauliflower gratin. How to transform the simplest of vegetables into a creamy cheesy rock star side dish? Cook it into a gratin.

I love cauliflower. I love it raw as a crunchy healthy snack. I love it roasted with crispy browned edges. I love it in a cheddary soup. Or puréed into fake mashed potatoes. Cauliflower has to be one of the world’s most adaptable and dress-up-able vegetables.

No where is cauliflower’s haute capabilities more clear than in a gratin. Honestly it’s hard to go wrong given that we are smothering lightly steamed cauliflower in a cheesy Gruyere and leek béchamel, and baking it topped with butter toasted fresh breadcrumbs.

It’s as if the vegetable wanted to remind us of what she is capable of.

A worthy side to glazed ham, roast beef, brisket, or roast chicken.

Cauliflower Gratin Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cored, broken into bite-sized florets (see How to Cut and Core Cauliflower)
• 2 medium-small leeks, cleaned, halved lengthwise, sliced into 1/4-in thick slices, white and light green parts only, about 2 cups
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (3 slices of sandwich bread or rustic bread, pulsed in a food processor)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pepper

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