Loaded Baked Cauliflower

Oh look, it's cauliflower again. Not a problem, we love cauliflower. We're awfully fond of bacon, cheese, and chives too - usually brought together on baked potatoes. Potatoes are not a good idea for me any more, but that's okay. These toppings do just as well on cauliflower. And we love cauliflower!

This is substantial enough to be a main dish. I hate to say it just needs some carbohydrate to round out your meal, but it does. Serve it with brown rice or quinoa pilaf and there you go.

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 15 minutes - 45 minutes prep time

6 cups cauliflower florets (1 medium cauliflower)
1 red or orange pepper OR 6 button mushrooms
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup chopped chives OR green onion
350 grams (3/4 pound) bacon
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika (optional)

Put a large pot of water on to cook the cauliflower. Trim the cauliflower and break it into florets. When the water boils, add it to the pot and cook for 6 minutes. Drain very well, and if not proceeding at once, rinse the cauliflower in cold water until cool first.

Core, de-seed, and chop the pepper or clean and chop the mushrooms. Peel and mince the garlic. Clean, trim, and chop the chives or green onions. Chop the bacon.

Cook the bacon over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet until fairly crisp. Lift it from the fat and put it onto a plate covered with a paper towel to drain. Drain off most of the fat - save it for some other purpose - and cook the peppers or mushrooms until softened. Add the garlic, mix it in well, then transfer the vegetables to another plate.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Grate the cheeses.

Oil a 2-quart shallow baking (lasagne) pan and spread the cauliflower in it.  Dot it with the sour cream, then season with the pepper and paprika. You may wish to add a little salt, but be very careful - the bacon and cheeses will have lots. Toss the cauliflower gently with the sour cream until coated, then sprinkle half the cheeses and half the chives or green onions over and toss gently again. Sprinkle the bacon and peppers or mushrooms over the cauliflower. Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses. Cover the pan with foil (or a lid, if it has one) and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil (or lid) and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Serve at once.




Last year at this time I made Basque Chicken Terrine.

Posted in: Ontario Food