Cauliflower Au Gratin; Close Paleo
This one is not for the faint of heart. A pretty involved recipe what with the Bechamel sauce topping, blanching the cauliflower and so on. Here’s the recipe from BigOven that I adapted. I used half & half for the Bechamel and then to make paleo friedly, substituted potato starch for the flour in the sauce and for the topping I used almond meal instead of panko. So, no wheat, no gluten.
Just Enough Sauce
Careful and wait until the sauce begins to bubble in the center, not just the edges. Then fire under the broiler to really crisp it at the end.
Out of the Oven
This is a very worthwhile dish, I must say.
Cauliflower Au Gratin
Give it a shot if you’re up to it.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT AND HOW IT WORKS
Free The Animal is an eclectic writing project about everything since November 2003. 23 years, 5,500 posts, 5 million words.
It's a paid membership blog. Most posts are free and public, but only paid members can comment. What determines whether it's free or paid is when I publish. Monday through Friday, free and public. Saturday and Sunday, for paid members. That's it. Membership info here.
[…] Cauliflower Au Gratin […]
Yum! And to think some people hate cauliflower…!
Yup, you deserve the title of Paleo Chef….this looks amazing. What about leaving off the crusty almonds? That shit is too expensive in my parts. I can’t find a suitable replacement though.
Would arrowroot flour be good to replace the potato starch in the béchamel?
Not sure about the arrowroot. Mainly, it’s a source of starch you’re looking for. As for the crust, perhaps replace the almond meal with dried parsley combined with the basil.
Arrowroot would work well. I’ve used it in a bechamel. This looks delicious, it will be a nice change from cauliflower mashed, which I think I’ve worn out with my family.
Forgot to add: your photography is getting better and better.
It’s the new higher priced camera. When you buy a cheap camera, even with lots of mega pixels you still get what you pay for. I’ve got a new SLR digital and the quality of the pictures is like comparing HD to Analog.
As for the cauliflower, you know how much I love cauliflower, especially “Oma style” the way your mom had been doing it for years with the bread crumb and butter sauce. I still like done without the bread crumbs, but not as much. So I am going to ask your mom to fix with this recipe, it looks very delicious.
That looks tasty – how about you just send me some of what you made? LOL
Kidding, of course…I’m a bit far away (Ontario, Canada). :(
I’m not a very experienced cook so I like the simpler, quicker recipes using ingredients that are easy to find. I’ll have to take a closer look at the recipe tonight to see if I will attempt it or not.
Nice one Richard. Thanks for the BIGOVEN link…was not aware of it.
I’ve got my parents returning in a few weeks…let me know if you would like some more fish liver.
Marc
[…] I'm adding this to my list of fine cauliflower dishes. Here's a couple I've done before: Au Gratin and Burnt Almond Meal (used to be bread […]
You can make the same dish with even fewer carbs is you use cream instead of the bechamel…just cook the cream down until it is the thickness of bechamel and use it the same way. If you start with a quart of cream and cook it down by half, both the texture and the amount you end up with should be just about right. If you start with frozen cauliflower, just thaw and drain it well and/or pat it dry first…it would work very much like blanched fresh cauliflower. And finally, for the person who wanted a substitute for the almonds, crushed-up pork rinds would work beautifully instead of almonds or the evil bread crumbs.
Not that it isn’t a great recipe as it is, though :)