"Cauliflower au gratin...Papà!!!"

Neither Italian nor Greek but... a dish that brings me a lot of nice memories.

Firstly, my mom cooked it when we were kids as it was a great way to "present us" a less loved vegetable and I did the same with my kids.

Secondly, believe it or not, it was one of the first recipes I learned when my cooking "repertoire" was not so rich and I was so proud of the result that I used to make it really often...maybe too often...🤣

During the first years in Athens, after I got married, my dad used to come from Italy quite often for his travel-business. It was flash trips, maybe for one night only, but a nice occasion to have him with us for some dinners. So I remember, and still I laugh, when I think about his face, each trip, when he asked me: "what do we have for dinner Sofia?😨" and I proudly answered:

"Cauliflower au gratin...Papà!!!"😁

Ingredients:

Cauliflower approx. 1 kg clean Gruyere or Pecorino cheese grated 200g

Bacon or Smoked ham 150g

0,8 liter milk Butter 100 g Flour 100 g 1 egg yolk Nutmeg Salt Black pepper

A handful of breadcrumbs

Directions:

Clean the cauliflower and keep just the part with the flowers.

Thoroughly wash it and then boil it with very few water, just as you need to make it a bit more than "al dente" (if you have a pressure cooker will need just a couple of minutes).

Drain it and by cutting it in pieces, spread it in an oven pan, add salt and pepper.

Back then, don't' think I was preparing a homemade béchamel 😅 as I do now...

For the béchamel:

Heat the butter in a pot just until it melts, add the flour and start mix with a hand whisk.

Add the milk in small batches while whisking continuously. Wait for each batch of milk to be completely incorporated into the mixture before adding the next one. This way no lumps will form. Repeat process until all of the milk has been added. Let the béchamel sauce simmer for a bit and add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and nutmeg.

Add 50g of the grated gruyere or pecorino cheese and stir with a spatula.

Taste and adjust with salt and pepper, if needed. Add the egg yolk and stir to combine.

Cut the bacon or ham in small pieces and together with the béchamel incorporate both into the cauliflower. Mix everything well and spread the mixture in the oven pan to make it even.

Sprinkle evenly all over the surface with the remaining grated cheese and on top spread a handful of breadcrumbs plus few bites of fresh butter.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180 C degrees until a nice crust is formed.