Cauliflower au Gratin with Pepper Jack Cheese - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why is my cauliflower gratin 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.

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

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the dish was often served as an accompaniment to the roast meat and potatoes that were eaten for the traditional Sunday lunch, normally in the winter months. In the UK, cauliflower cheese is now widely produced as a vegetarian ready meal, and is also popular as a pre-prepared baby food.

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.

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.

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.

At a minimum, include cruciferous vegetables as part of your diet 2-3 times per week, and make the serving size at least 1-1/2 cups. Even better from a health standpoint, enjoy cauliflower and other vegetables from the cruciferous vegetable group 4-5 times per week, and increase your serving size to 2 cups.

While everyone's tolerance is different, too much cauliflower can create G.I. distress, like excess gas and bloating. “Make sure to drink enough water to move it through your system,” suggests Lincoln. Cooking it can also dial back digestion woes.

Can you reheat cauliflower cheese? Yes you can, and it will taste fine… But just be aware that it will dry out a little and the cauliflower will be a little bit softer… not a deal breaker, but definitely not as good as fresh! Simply place any leftover cauliflower in a lidded container and refrigerate.

The growing point is severely deformed and no marketable curd is formed. This condition in cauliflower results because of the deficiency of molybdenum which occurs in acidic soils below 4-5 pH. Correction measures: It may be controlled by liming the soil which reduces the acidity and increases the soil pH up to 6.5.

Which country invented cauliflower? ›

The origins of cauliflower are believed to be the Northeastern Mediterranean region (Cyprus). The word broccoli comes from the Italian word brocco derived from the Latin brocchus (meaning 'projecting', a reference to the broccoli head).

Try letting the dish rest for 10 minutes or so to let the water get absorbed and let the sauce thicken. Try cooking your recipe longer. Try uncovering the dish in the oven for the last 10 minutes or so.

It's probably just differences in the type of potato - some are wetter than others and it changes with the seasons. Do you cover it when you bake it? I would use double cream rather than milk if you want it thicker, or bake it for longer to burn off the liquid.

A watery cheese sauce is usually because you've overcooked your cauliflower. If you need to thicken your cheese sauce, mix a tablespoon of cornflour with two tablespoons of the cheese sauce in a separate bowl and then add it back into the mixture. This should thicken it up.

Watery scalloped potatoes are not good, and is often caused by using the wrong type of potato. This recipe requires starchy potatoes, such as russets or Yukon golds, not waxy potatoes. Another cause is washing or holding the sliced potatoes in water (as outlined in the question above).