Cauliflower cheese with Fessli & gruyère

Ingredients

• 400ml whole milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
• 30g butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 80g gruyère, grated
• 40g Fessli, grated
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

Bring the milk to the boil in a small saucepan with the bay leaf and peppercorns, then set aside off the heat to infuse while you get on with the rest of the recipe.

Heat the oven to 190C. Bring a pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the cauliflower florets for 8-10 mins (depending on their size), until they’re just barely fork tender. Drain them well then allow to steam dry to remove as much of their moisture as possible.

To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Once frothing, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring almost constantly for 2-3 mins.

Gradually pour in the milk, still whisking constantly, until you have a smooth sauce. Simmer for 4-5 mins until the sauce has thickened to a béchamel thickness and coats the back of a spoon well – don’t worry if it’s a little thick as moisture will come out of the cauliflower during baking. Season to taste with salt, if needed.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the Dijon mustard, followed by half each of the gruyère and the Fessli.

Stir the cauliflower into the white sauce so that it’s well coated, then transfer the whole lot to a medium baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese, and a good few grinds of black pepper.

Bake for 30 mins, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is golden on top. Leave to stand for 5 mins before serving.

Image: Rachel Phipps