Sun-dried Tomato Cauliflower Cheese

Total Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets (about 6 cups)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (or 1/8 tsp. smoked paprika)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup old cheddar cheese or 3/4 cup friulano cheese, shredded, divided

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot of boiling water, boil cauliflower for about 7 minutes or until just tender. drain well; set aside.
• 2 meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. sauté garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. whisk flour into milk; gradually pour into pan whisking constantly. stir in sun-dried tomatoes, paprika, and pepper and cook, stirring for about 3 minutes or until bubbling and thickened. remove from heat and stir in half the cheese until melted. pour over cauliflower in a heatproof serving dish; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• 3 cooking tip: to save time you can purchase pre-cut cauliflower and in a pinch use thawed frozen cauliflower and just boil for 1-2 minutes or until hot. be sure to drain the cauliflower very well to prevent watering down the cheese sauce.
• 4 for the adventurous: make this a crumb-topped gratin: spread cauliflower mixture in a shallow 8-cup baking dish. combine 1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs, 1/2 cup additional shredded cheese, 1 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil, and pepper to taste; sprinkle over cauliflower. bake in 400f oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.