Cauliflower cheese.

Cauliflower is out of season at the moment, hence the price and availability situation. Late summer they all come in from France and us and elsewhere. But Sainsnburys had lots.

We're having cauliflower cheese for today's lunch. I make a traditional bechamel sauce and add a teaspoon of ready made mustard, I use only cheddar cheese, anything else seems wrong. I boil the cauliflower whole, leaving some of the leaves on. Put the cooked cauliflower in a dish and pour over the sauce. Then I sprinkle over some reserved cheese and flash it under the grill. Delicious.

I top with breadcrumbs and grated cheese like Radicalnan - it gives a lovely crunchy topping. If I have any spring onions I also mix in some of those finely sliced.

My recipe for cauliflower cheese includes a quarter teaspoon of cayenne and a quarter teaspoon of dry mustard powder in the sauce, and 4 roughly-chopped hard-boiled eggs in amongst the cauliflower. it's popular in the family.

Always use a spoonful of Dijon mustard in the sauce. There's a lovely big veg shop near us, the kind you rarely see these days with tiers of boxes filled with all kinds of fruit, vegetables, and flowers beautifully displayed outside and in.

Their big cauliflowers were 69p.

I love this dish and tend to use less cheese and more mustard in the sauce to lessen the fat content. I am happy to eat it with nice crusty bread. They are quite expensive but as the main ingredient for a meal I suppose it's not bad. We have a son living at home at present who likes his meat so I have started to add some chopped cooked bacon too which I have to admit adds to it.

I use a standard roux sauce, grate in some strong cheddar adding some stilton for an extra bite! Super.

Interesting how few of you mention breadcrumbs, many years ago my domestic science teacher insisted 'au gratin' meant covered in breadcrumbs and browned. Apparently the posh name is cauliflower au gratin for cauliflower cheese. Personally I don't care how it's cooked as long as the cheese used is reasonably strong, it's just delicious and hard to resist eating far roo much.

I did think of breadcrumbs, but don't have any. You can buy packets of them, but they taste synthetic.
My Mum used to make them - leave breadcrusts at the bottom of the oven when it was in use. They go like rusks, then break up with a rolling pin.

My Cauliflower Cheese is a main meal dish as we're vegetarians. Lots of strong cheddar, English mustard, salted butter.....and I top the dish with fried onions & cherry tomatoes before browning it in the oven.

Fran0251 I'm slightly puzzled by your comment that cauliflower is out of season, I live in Devon & only buy from my local shop or veg delivery (local), definitely in the shop & in organic veg box until about May.

I make a bechemal sauce & use extra mature cheddar, I look forward to trying some of the suggestions of mustard, horseradish etc. I often treat cauliflower cheese as the main part of my meal.

There has been huge variations in the size of "cauli"s this year due to weather conditions in UK, no shortage, so glad as it's one of my favourite veg.

I love cauli cheese ( but it doesn't love me) so don't have it any more.
when DS was at school, he came home with a tale of woe ( he was, as a child very bad at eating veg) he had gone up for school lunch, spotted the tray of what he thought was pasta in cheese sauce and asked for just that on it's own, so the dinner lady gave him a large helping of it.When he sat down and tucked in, discovered his mistake! We were a bit unkind and laughed.

Hi everyone. Had to join the Cauliflower Cheese conversation awesome!Regulary I cook my absolutely favourite dish....Cauliflower Cheese. You either love it or hate it! Husband hates the smell so tend to do it when he is away. I used 1/2 boiled cauliflower, made a basic white sauce, added 3 different cheeses (whatever you have in the fridge). Topped with my own dried breadcrumbs. Wacked it in a high oven for 10 minutes to brown the top. I had enough for 2 meals so very cheap to make and a good vegetarian option for anyone on here. Have a good day whatever you are cooking :-)

Lidl - 89p. Cheapest I've seen for ages, even before the winter.

I turn it into a more substantial dish by adding a large onion, softened but not browned, and hard boiled eggs, quartered, and use well matured cheddar cheese and plenty of black pepper in the sauce and more cheese on the top before browning in the oven so that it's all piping hot--then serve it with baked tomatoes. We've still got tomatoes ripening from the green ones we saved last autumn.

That photo has made me want need to have Cauliflower Cheese for supper SueinHull My DH hates the stuff too.

I make a substantial dish by mixing the cooked cauliflower florets with tiny boiled new potatoes (sometimes these are leftovers from the day before) and then adding the sauce - made with strong cheddar - before cooking for 20 mins in a hot oven to brown the top. I usually serve with either cold sliced ham or crispy smoked bacon...Delicious..!

@Gillybob..... I hear you ;)

I always top mine with cheese and tomatoes and then grill, also serve it with bacon crisply grilled, and a few (dare I say it) chips! Like the cauliflower mixed with broccoli too.

Hi TriciaF - I whizz up any left over bits of bread and freeze. You can use them straight from the freezer to top things that are going to be popped in the oven or under the grill.

I make any white sauce by using cornflour as a thickening agent for milk, omitting the need to make a traditional bechemal sauce. Then add cheese to taste. Much cheaper way of making a white sauce, no need to buy ready made sauces. Saving pennies, win win in my book.?

At today's exchange rate, that 2.39€ is equivalent to £2.03 - on the other hand, if you do all your transactions in euros, the mostimportant factor is the proportion of your income you have to use to buy a cauliflower, so this financial nugget is probably of no relevance to your point!

French people often have choufleur au gratin, mashed with cream, garlic and parsley rather than in bigger florets cheese sauce, and in the 50s and 60s my French mother used to overcook cauliflower mercilessly until it was completely soft and breaking up. I don't know how it managed to retain its it top spot in my vegetable rankings ...

I add cooked bacon and leeks to my cauliflower cheese and serve it as a main meal. We have tried to grow cauliflowers in our vegetable garden. They are very small but have a lovely flavour.

I adore cauliflower cheese but only make as a treat if my son is visiting.

I do the full fat version ie roux using loadsa butter & plain flour with full milk. Masses of grated vintage cheddar. All then spooned over raw florets in my lasagne dish. Yet more grated cheese sprinkled on top and in hot oven for 45 mins.

My only variation is to do a half broccoli side .... Because DIL doesn't like colly.

I love love love it! My secret vice ....

Just been into Town & seen Exeter cauliflower at £1.50 in the Greengrocer & they're huge (grown about 10/12 miles from where I live)

With my roast at the weekend cauliflower cheese, Yum, can't wait