For Supper Club, the theme was Eastern European. When looking for recipes, I found one for Ukrainian (well, that’s what the main division said) cauliflower that sounded excellent. It’s a fairly simple receipt, though the times they gave were off.

This baked Ukrainian cauliflower recipe is similar to scalloped cauliflower and cauliflower au gratin because it is made with a cheesy cream sauce. If you want to gussy up the presentation of cauliflower for a special dinner, this is the way to do it.

Sometimes, I substitute finely chopped nuts for the bread crumbs for an interesting twist. Here’s a larger photo of baked cauliflower.

Makes 6 servings of Hungarian Baked Cauliflowr

Prep Time: 20 minutes (No, about 40.)

Cook Time: 30 minutes (No, about 50.)

Total Time: 50 minutes (1 hour and 20 minutes)

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower, washed, trimmed and broken into flowerets (a mix of sizes are fine)
1/2 cup crisp bacon pieces or chopped ham (or both?)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons grated cheese of choice (used Havarti)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or finely chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans
1 tablespoon melted butter
Cream Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold beef or chicken stock
1/2 cup cold half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cook cauliflower, uncovered, in boiling, salted water for 8 minutes or until barely tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add bacon or ham and set aside.

To make the cream sauce: In a small saucepan, make a roux by melting butter and flour and cooking 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cold stock and cold cream and, with a wire whisk, stir constantly until sauce boils. Cook over low 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix 1/2 cup cheese into hot cream sauce.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a medium shallow casserole or gratin pan. Mix cheese sauce with cooked cauliflower and bacon or ham. Transfer to prepared baking pan.

Mix bread crumbs or nuts with melted butter and 2 tablespoons cheese. Sprinkle over cauliflower. Set casserole dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake about 20 minutes or until golden and cauliflower is cooked.

I really liked the recipe. I think it was pretty good. Ron said it was good, too, but that could have been “good for cauliflower.”

The original website was about.com.