Not a pretty dish but comforting for Winter.
It seemed like a good idea to order kale, though I ended up with cavola nero. Once it arrived, I was left wondering what on earth to do with it since cabbage and Winter greens aren’t something that I’d rush to cook. Ever. Then he mentioned that one of my eldest’s favourite dishes was cauliflower and kale cheese from a branded chain – worth a go.
The recipe involves making a cheese sauce though you can buy these easily enough nowadays if you want to take a shortcut. Essentially make or buy a cheese sauce. Cook cauliflower and kale. Combine everything in an ovenproof dish. Smother with cheddar (or other melting cheese) It’s so simple that I’m not sure it counts as a recipe at all, but it does make a decent supper.
Ingredients
- 5 tsp cornflour
- 300 ml (1/2 pint) milk
- knob of butter
- 50g cheddar
- 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 200g cavola nero, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- juice of 1 lemon
- 50 g cheddar/parmesan for topping
Melt the knob of butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Fry cornflour for 5 minutes on a low heat without burning. Slowly, slowly add the milk stirring continuously. Bring to the boil until thickened. Melt the cheese into the white sauce and set aside.
Cook the cauliflower in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
Fry the onion in a pan until soft. Add the garlic. Add the chopped cavola nero and mix thoroughly. Cover and sweat over a low heat for 3-5 minutes. Add the lemon juice. Taste and cook for a further couple of minutes if needed.
Combine the cauliflower and cavola nero in a large overproof dish. Pour over the cheese sauce. Top with cheddar and bake at 200C for around 25-30 minutes until golden.
Serve with bread.
And my daughters provided a decent review of this dish but suggested an alternative: halving the kale and replacing with pasta to make a type of macarnic cheese. It worked, and the remaining kale ended up being turned into bubble and squeak potato cakes. Just mix the cooked kale/onion mix with mashed potatoes and form into cakes to fry.
