Cauliflower cheese spaghetti | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to stop cauliflower cheese from going watery? ›

Drain well

Make sure you drain the cauliflower really well after it's boiled up and before you add it to the dish, otherwise it will end up too watery.

Cauliflower is blanched for a few minutes, before being baked in the oven smothered in cheese sauce. So gooood. What is this? It pairs really well with salty meats, especially roast ham, gammon steaks and bacon.

Rustle up one of the greatest comfort foods: cauliflower cheese. It makes a perfect side dish or vegetarian main meal.

The trick with cauliflower is: Don't cook it till is too soft. just 4 or 5 minutes but taste to be sure. then drain into a colander, (sieve with big holes) and leave to drain for a few minutes, asking every minute. tap dry with a little kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.

You can keep cauliflower's white color and enhance its sweetness by adding 1 cup of milk when cooking it. Add a cup of milk to the cooking water and bring it to a boil. Add the cauliflower pieces and allow the water to return to a boil; gently boil for 3 to 5 minutes.

It can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to cook. It is possible to freeze cauliflower cheese but unfortunately the sauce can sometimes turn thin and sligtly watery on defrosting, so we prefer not to freeze the dish if at all possible.

Ideally, we should all eat food straight after it has been cooked. This is when it's at its freshest and likely to taste the best. In terms of food safety, however, so long as you reheat the food at the correct temperature and for the correct duration of time, it can in fact be safely reheated multiple times.

Certain vegetables cause gas and abnormal bowel habits. Avoid cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, coleslaw and sauerkraut. Also, limit artichoke, brussels sprouts, onions, shallots, leeks and asparagus.

If you're planning to roast the cauliflower whole or slice it into steaks, slice off the thick stem at the base. Drop the whole cauliflower head upside-down into cool, salted water. Let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes to remove dirt, residue and bugs.

Cauliflower Cheese is a British dish that is served as a side or even as a main (vegetarian!) It's a cauliflower bake, smothered in a creamy cheese sauce that's popped in the oven until bubbly and golden.

Why does my cauliflower cheese split? ›

Cook your cauliflower cheese at the right temperature, otherwise your cheese sauce can split. If your cheese sauce splits before that, it can be down to leaving it out too long, or you've boiled the sauce. If this happens, add a splash of milk or cream and whisk vigorously and it should come back to life.

Every part of a cauliflower is edible, even the tough outer skin. However, we do recommend peeling this part before cooking as it's a bit tough to chew.

She said: "Cauliflower cheese can go watery if the cauliflower is overcooked. Overcooked cauliflower releases water, which will seep into the rest of the dish. So even if your sauce was thick when it went in the oven, if it's in there too long, the water from the cauliflower will cause it to go watery."

Avoid cauliflower with small brown specks on the florets; they are a sign of aging. The size of the cauliflower head does not affect its quality. Keep raw cauliflower in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for three to five days.

She said: "Cauliflower cheese can go watery if the cauliflower is overcooked. Overcooked cauliflower releases water, which will seep into the rest of the dish. So even if your sauce was thick when it went in the oven, if it's in there too long, the water from the cauliflower will cause it to go watery."

Most recipes recommend blanching the cauliflower in boiling water for a few minutes for this initial stage, but it's important to pay close attention to this step. The watery problem happens when the cauliflower is either overcooked or not drained well enough after a quick blanching.

Wipe the cheese dry, wrap in parchment or wax paper and place in an airtight container. Store in your vegetable drawer or if you have one, the shelf compartment specifically designed for cheese. This is a more temperature stable area and cheese seems to last better when placed here.

For dips, you'll want to use a tablespoon of cornstarch per pound of cheese, then add at least five ounces of evaporated milk. After that, you can use more evaporated milk to thin out your dip as much as you need.