GET YOUR APRON'S ON, IT'S TIME TO COOK!

I am so excited to be able to share some of my favourite recipes with you all that I couldn't wait until tomorrow to get started.  I hope you enjoy this, it really is worth the extra effort to make your own cheese sauce as it tastes so much better than ready made ones.  If you want copies of any of the recipes leave a comment and I will print them off for you to collect from me at Glossop Outdoor Market.  You can find me in the book cabin every Friday and Saturday.


CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

This recipe is for a day when you have a little bit of extra time on your hands as I am going to teach you the secret of making a perfect cheese sauce from scratch.  If your family doesn’t like cauliflower you can substitute it for broccoli or a selection of seasonal vegetables of your choice.

Serves 4

1 cauliflower - or vegetables of your choice
12 ounces of extra strong cheddar cheese
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
1 ounce of butter or butter substitute (check before you add this that it will melt as not all of the low fat spreads will do this)
Approximately ¾ pint of milk
¼ teaspoon ready made English mustard
Seasoning to taste

Prepare your cauliflower by cutting into bite sized chunks and place it into a saucepan of water to which you have added a dash of salt.  Bring it to the boil and cook until nearly done.  This should take approximately 7 to 10 minutes but you will need to keep an eye on it as you don’t want to overcook it.

Whilst your cauliflower is cooking you are going to make your sauce.  First you will need to grate your cheese and put it to one side.

Melt your butter in a medium sized saucepan taking care not to burn it.  Add your flour to the butter and stir continuously until it turns golden and begins to “sizzle” around the edges.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the milk a little at a time.  I find it helps to use a whisk to combine the butter/flour with the milk as this prevents lumps from forming.  Once you have added all of the milk return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly - still using your whisk.  As soon as the mixture boils and thickens remove the pan from the heat and add the mustard (this helps to bring out the full flavour of the cheese).  Then add the cheese, retaining a little to sprinkle over the top, a little at a time and stir well.  Once all the cheese is added you can taste your sauce and adjust the seasoning to taste.  Don’t return the pan to the heat as the cheese will go stringy if you do so.

Drain your cauliflower well, put it into an ovenproof dish and pour the cheese sauce over the top.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top too.  Pop it into a medium oven until it is nicely browned on top, this should take about 30 minutes but do check it as all ovens differ slightly.

Serve with some nice sausages for a tasty mid week meal which the whole family will enjoy.  This also goes well with pork chops which you can cook in the oven at the same time as the cauliflower cheese.

Sausage, chops or meat of your choice available from Glossop Indoor Market

Cheese and butter available from Glossop Indoor Market

Cauliflower available from Glossop Outdoor Market

We are assuming that you will have flour etc., in your store cupboard.