Winter cooking: Cheesy mustard leek and cauliflower cheese
- Sam Rudd
- Nov 20, 2025
- 1 min read
Cauliflower cheese with a twist. In this dish, I suggest a way to make use of the outer leaves, add a little leek flavouring and how to make a smooth and rich cheese sauce that leaves people asking for seconds.
1
How to enjoy
Serve this as a side dish to a warming winter meal, e.g. roast dinners, sausages, or on its own with crusty bread.
The key to the white/cheese sauce is giving it time and managing the temperature- don't rush, cook the flour off first and keep mixing.
Notes
1
Prepare the cauliflower by separating the leaves from the head and loosely chopping them. Break down the cauli head into mouth-sized peaces and either dicing stem to add in or composting it.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the cauliflower florets and cook for 5–7 minutes until just tender but not soft. Drain well (you might want save the water if you’re making a gravy) and set aside.
2
In a large pan or wide deep pan (enamel or non stick works best), add the chopped leek and cauliflower leaves with a crack of pepper and fry off until soft on a low-medium heat (7-10 mins). Add in the butter, diced garlic and bay leaves, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
3
Turn the heat down low and add in the flour, mixing it in and stirring regularly. You’re looking to gently cook the gluten in the flour for 2-3 minutes. The leek and greens will now be coated in the mixed flour and the butter will have slightly browned.
4
Gradually add the milk, a glug at a time, whilst mixing continuously to avoid lumps. The temperature of the pan is key here: too hot and it will rapidly go lumpy but still hot enough to activate the gluten in the flour to make it thicken the sauce. Continue to add the milk gradually as it mixes in and thickens. Continue this process for over 5 minutes. Based on how viscous you like your sauce, you could opt to use less milk if you’re happy with the consistency.
5
Stir in the mustard, most of the grated cheddar (reserving a little for the topping), and a pinch of paprika.
6
Place the cauliflower florets in an ovenproof dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the top, making sure it’s well covered and giving it a light mix to evenly coat the dish and cauliflower. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese and then bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
Instructions
Quality Fresh 2 beef fillets ( approximately 14 ounces each )
Quality Olive oil
4 cups Chestnut Mushrooms
1 sprig fresh thyme
4 cups puff pastry
8 slices Parma ham
2 egg yolks
beaten with 1 tbsp water and a pinch of salt
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Beef Wellington
2 tbsp olive oil
7 oz beef trimmings
4 large shallots ( peeled and sliced )
12 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
Splash of red wine vinegar
3 cups red wine
3 cups beef stock
Red Wine Sauce
Cauliflower cheese with a twist
Food enthusiast
Sam Rudd
Cauliflower cheese with a twist. In this dish I suggest a way to make use of the outer leaves, add a little leek flavouring and how to make a smooth and rich cheese sauce that leaves people asking for seconds.
Photo by Johnson Koraya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/fresh-cauliflower-harvest-in-indian-market-33519118/
Servings :
4 Servings
Calories:
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cooking Time
45 min
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Total Time
1 hour
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