Cauliflower casseroles: A nutritious twist on classic comfort

When preparing the casserole, you can cook the cauliflower alongside the pasta. This is a quick way to soften the florets before placing them in the oven. However, if you're concerned they might become overcooked, prepare them in a separate pot or steam them. After cooking, blanch the cauliflower florets under cold running water to make them crispier.

Blanching is a process that helps retain the intense colour and crispiness of vegetables such as cauliflower or broccoli. This technique stops the cooking process, helping to maintain the desired firmness of the vegetables. Similarly, you can blanch other vegetables, like green beans or spinach, better suited for salads or side dishes.

Some vegetables, like carrots or beets, gain more nutritional value when cooked due to the release of carotenoids. However, while very tasty when cooked, cauliflower is also worth eating raw, as it provides much more vitamin C this way.

The great advantage of cauliflower is its versatility. It works wonderfully in the kitchen as a component of hot dishes, such as cream soup and a base for salads. Moreover, when it's broken into smaller pieces and lightly baked, cauliflower can be an alternative to rice.

From the given ingredients, you can prepare a serving for four people.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of pasta, such as shells or penne,
• half a cauliflower,
• 2 tablespoons of butter,
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour,
• 1 and 1/4 cups of milk,
• 3/4 cup of shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, gruyère, or brie can be used),
• a pinch of salt,
• optional: 1 teaspoon of mustard and 3 tablespoons of pine nuts or almond flakes.

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package instructions.
2. Add the cauliflower broken into florets three minutes before the end of cooking. Drain the cooked ingredients and transfer them to a baking dish.
3. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and mix well to prepare a base for the béchamel sauce. Stir constantly, and gradually add the milk. If desired, you can add mustard at this point.
4. Add the grated cheese and a pinch of salt. Mix until you achieve a smooth sauce consistency.
5. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower and pasta in the baking dish. Place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius and bake for about 15 minutes. Halfway through baking, you can add pine nuts or almond flakes.