Everyone loves a silky, decadent cheese sauce over pasta. This recipe sneaks in a full serving of vegetables to mac & cheese a bit more healthy.
Cauliflower is great as a raw snack but using a little kitchen magic, you can turn it into a great sauce for topping fresh pasta, grilled veggies, or roasted meats. Our favorite combination is bowtie pasta with roasted red peppers.
Make sure you add pasta to heavily salted boiling water. Italian cooks say the water should be as salty as the sea!
The recipe was adapted from Chef Jennifer M. Denlinger of www.FloridaChef.net
Cauliflower Cheese Sauce
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 1½ cups milk, warm
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1¼ cups shredded cheese or chopped cheese (You can use any type of cheese, and mix and match. Perfect for using up the leftover cheese in your fridge. The sauce in the picture used approximately ¼ cup of shredded parmesan, ½ cup shredded cheddar, and 4 slices American cheese. Using a salty cheese will decrease the amount of salt needed in the sauce. )
- Roughly chop up cauliflower and its stem into small pieces. Do not use the green leaves if they are present.
- Bring 2-3 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp. salt. Add cauliflower and cook until very tender, almost mushy.
- Drain cauliflower very well, and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Blend for several minutes.
- Add the warm milk while the food processor motor is running. Then add the cheeses and season again with salt if needed and with pepper. Blend until silky.
- Serve over pasta or vegetables or as a dip with bread or pretzels.
Yields approximately 4-5 cups depending on the size of cauliflower and the amount of cheese used!