Cauliflower in Mornay Sauce

From All Colour Vegetarian Cookery, Ruth Kimber, Ward Lock, 1978.

I was after one vegetable dish to accompany some slices of pumpkin pie left over from the evening before. This was the dish I chose.

I took half a cauliflower and placed it in a bowl of salted water and left it for half an hour. A saucepan of salted water was now brought to the boil and the cauliflower, drained, placed in the boiling water for 15 minutes. It was then taken out and added to a greased casserole dish.

The sauce was now made. I took 25g gram cornflour and stirred in sufficient water to dissolve it. In a saucepan I heated 250ml milk with a little salt and nutmeg. As it heated I poured in the dissolved cornflour and stirred until the mixture had boiled and thickened. Now 100g grated Emmenthal cheese went in and was stirred until dissolved. The sauce was poured over the cauliflower and it was cooked in a 200ªC oven until the sauce had begun to brown.

This was a satisfactory vegetable accompaniment. It was pleasantly cheesy with occasional nutmeg highlights. The cauliflower had retained a little body and was not too soft.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

In One Word: Seventies