Cauliflower Cheese Crumble with Tomato and Herbs

Adding tomatoes, fresh thyme and an oaty crumble topping to cauliflower cheese transforms a simple dish into something else entirely!

I've been making this for years so it's definitely tried and tested as well as being a favourite!  The idea for a cauliflower crumble originally came from a Sophie Grigson's recipe.  I've added a "cheese" sauce and made the dish entirely dairy free.  

There are quite a few vegan alternatives to cheese available these days but we've always liked Bute Island Sheeses which are available in most independent health shops.    Some larger Tesco stores now stock a range of soya cheese (cream cheese spreads and cheddar) which are made by the same company. 

      
Ingredients                      Serves 4 - 6

1 cauliflower
4 tomatoes (or 400g can plum tomatoes, well drained)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
freshly ground salt and pepper

Crumble
100g dairy free margarine (e.g. Pure)
50g wholemeal flour
50g plain white flour
50g porridge oats
50g dairyfree cheddar Sheese, grated

Cheese Sauce
1 small onion 
40g dairy free margarine (e.g. Pure)
25g plain flour
15 fl.oz unsweetened soya milk
40g cheddar Sheese, grated
pinch of cayenne pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6

First prepare the cauliflower.  Break up the cauliflower into florets and select a few of the tender leaves (save the rest to use as greens another day.)  

At this point, it's handy to choose your ovenproof dish, ideally one that will take the cauliflower in a single layer.  

Simmer the cauliflower in a large pan of salted water until almost tender - about 7 or 8 minutes - or, alternatively,  steam for about 12 minutes.   Drain and arrange in your dish.

 

Next, make the cheese sauce.   Finely chop the onion.   Melt 40g margarine in a saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion for about 5 minutes without browning until translucent.

  

Add 25g plain flour and stir well (a balloon whisk is great for this) until you have a paste,  then cook over a gentle heat for a minute or two, stirring all the time. 

Remove the pan from the heat whilst you pour in the milk.  Add a little at a time, stirring constantly.
Place back over a medium heat and bring slowly to a simmer.  Let it bubble away gently for about five minutes until you have a creamy sauce, then add 40g grated cheddar sheese and a pinch of cayenne.  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour evenly over the cauliflower.  






Slice the tomatoes and place on top of the cauliflower cheese. 
If you're using a tin, drain the juice (to drink later!) and chop the tomatoes into small pieces.   Sprinkle over the top with fresh thyme leaves and a little salt.

 

To make the crumble,  either melt 100g margarine in a pan over a low heat or in a medium bowl in the microwave.  Add the two flours (100g in total),  50g oats and 50g grated cheddar Sheese and stir well.  Season with salt and pepper.      

  

 
Using your fingers,   sprinkle the crumble mixture over the vegetables.  Don't worry if there are any gaps - it's not meant to cover every inch!





 Bake for about 35 minutes until the topping is golden brown. 

Serve straightaway with some oven roasted potatoes and a green vegetable.

 

Spiced Potato and Cauliflower

If there's one thing I'd like to achieve writing this blog, it's to introduce the idea that eating a mostly "plant" based diet is anything but boring!  Even though Eric and I eat fish, we don't eat it that often so most of our meals are likely to be based on vegetables in some form or other. The variety of vegetables available all year round means you can ring the changes and eat really well.

Potatoes and cauliflower are rarely at the top of most people's list of favourite vegetables but wait till you try them served this way!  The spices in this Indian dish transform the humble potato and cauliflower into something quite exotic.   There's more than enough for two people as a main course with rice and poppadoms. It also goes well with onion bhajis which I'll be posting later.

This recipe works best with a firm waxy potato that holds it's shape well so I use  the pink fir apple variety that I grow at home.  A Charlotte or Nicola potato will do just as well.

Ingredients

250g (8oz) small waxy potatoes
1 small onion
2.5 cm (1") piece of root ginger
5ml (1 tsp) cumin seeds
2.5ml (1/2 tsp) turmeric
Half a cauliflower
A small bunch of fresh coriander
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp sunflower oil

Prepare the potatoes.  If they're large, peel and cut in half, otherwise leave whole and unpeeled and parboil in salted water for 5 minutes. They will still be hard on the inside. Drain.

When cool enough to handle, peel away the skins and cut the potatoes into chunks.

Cut the cauliflower into small florets.  Store the leaves for another day but you can use the middle of the stem if cut into small pieces.

Put the cumin seeds into a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder.

Peel and finely chop the onion and peel and grate the ginger.

Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan.  I use a wide-based saute pan with a lid. Fry the onion and ginger until the onion is translucent but not brown.  Add the cumin and turmeric and cook gently for a couple of minutes stirring all the time to avoid burning.

Add the potatoes and cauliflower to the pan and pour in 100ml of boiling water. Stir well to coat the vegetables in the spice mixture. 

Season with salt and pepper, then cover with a lid and cook gently for about 15 minutes. 

Keep checking that the mixture doesn't dry out and add more water as necessary so that there is plenty of steam to cook the vegetables.  Don't overcook them though, they should keep their shape and stay firm. 

Stir in some chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately.