Cauliflower cheese souffle

Light, fluffy and cheesily delicious

My favourite accompaniment to a roast dinner is my own take on a 'souffle'.  It isn't a proper souffle really, more of a cheesy topping for my steamed cauliflower.  It's delicious, moreish and very cheesy.

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

1. One head of cauliflower, the florets lightly steamed
2. One heaped tablespoon of butter or a substitute of your liking
3. Two heaped tablespoons of plain flour
4. 250ml of milk (you may need a tad more if the sauce is too thick)
5. 1 tsp of dijon mustard
6. Cheese, any kind you have around, grated (I had the end of a pecorino cheese to use up so had that)
7. 2 eggs, separated
8. S&P

This isn't an exact science, the sauce should be nice and thick but not so a spoon stands up in it.

First put your butter into a saucepan and melt over a gentle heat, add the flour and whisk until it forms a paste (a roux).  Then add the milk and stir with a whisk over a gentle heat until it it lump free and combined, add the mustard and turn the heat up a little until it comes up to a simmer stirring slowly.  Add S&P and cheese to taste and take off the heat, place the pan somewhere to cool down.

Once your sauce is cooling steam your cauliflower florets for 5 minutes until lightly cooked but still holding their own.  Set aside until your white sauce is cooled down.

When the sauce is cool add the two egg yolks and whisk in, then whisk your egg whites separately until they form peaks, this can be by hand but I used my Kenwood Chef.

Adding the egg whites

Now add the egg whites to the white sauce and using a metal spoon cut and fold
the egg whites into the sauce, don't whisk or stir.

Place your cauliflower into a heat proof bowl and pour your souffle mix over then grate more cheese over the top.  I cooked mine in my halogen oven for 20 minutes at 180C,  I like a chewy top to this dish and so I let it brown off.

This dish is lovely on it's own, with crispy bacon added or perfect with a Sunday roast.