serves
4
prep
15 minutes
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 40 g raw caster sugar
- 230 ml water
- 2 mandarins (see Note), broken into segments, straggly bits of pith removed
- peel of 1 mandarin, de-pithed with a knife and finely sliced
- 1 small head cauliflower, approximately 600 g
- 30 g Parmesan, finely grated
- black pepper
- olive oil, for drizzling
For the sauce
- 500 ml full cream milk
- peel of 1 mandarin, de-pithed with a knife
- ½ medium brown onion, cut into 3 wedges
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 tsp white peppercorns, roughly pounded
- 50 g butter
- 50 g plain flour
- 100 g fontina, coarsely grated
- 40 g Parmesan, finely grated
- Salt and white pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place the sugar, water and sliced peel in a small saucepan over high heat. As soon as it comes to the boil add in the segments and a good pinch of salt. Once it comes to the boil again, turn it down to a medium simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until the liquid has almost gone.
Tip the contents of the pan into a blender and buzz until smooth. Set aside.
While you are waiting for the mandarin to cook you can start your sauce. Put the milk in a saucepan with the peel, onion, herbs and peppercorns and place over medium heat. As soon as it comes to the boil remove it from the heat and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
You probably have a little time on your hands here to get your cauliflower ready. Cut the core so it’s flush with the bottom of the florets and then cut the whole head into quarters. Blanch in boiling salted water for about 2 minutes. Your water will probably not have come to the boil again in that time but never fear, you still want the cauliflower to be quite firm.
Refresh the cauliflower in iced water until cool. Tip it into a colander to strain and then dry it on some paper towel. Set aside.
Now back to the white sauce. Strain the milk into another saucepan and place over very low heat. Put the butter and flour together in a separate saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon. Once the butter melts it will come together with the flour and will start to sizzle and look a bit like wet crumbs. Keep stirring for about 3 more minutes. There shouldn’t be any colour but you will start to smell a nice biscuity aroma. At this stage pour a large ladleful of the milk over the flour mixture and stir until it comes together and is smooth. Add another ladle of milk and repeat.
Continue in this manner until all the milk is incorporated. Make sure you do it slowly and carefully though as you don’t want lumps. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheeses until they have completely melted. Season generously with salt and white pepper.
Now you are ready to bring everything together. Place the cauliflower in a mixing bowl, add in the mandarin puree and give it a good stir to coat. Pull the cauliflower out and arrange it with the florets sticking up in a small oven dish, scraping over any excess mandarin.
Pour over the white sauce. Give the top a good season with salt and black pepper before sprinkling with the extra Parmesan. Place into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, by which stage it should have a brown crust and be bubbling away appealingly.
Pull it out of the oven and give it a healthy drizzle of oil before serving immediately.
Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Tiffany Page.
Read our with Tama. This recipe is from our online column, . View previous .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
