Christmas cauliflower cheese with infused milk and three cheeses

Infusing the milk with aromatics such as onion, garlic and herbs gives the cheese sauce more depth of flavour. The three cheeses I used provided some nuttiness and tang. You can use any combination you want to. 

Recipe : Cauliflower cheese

1/2 cauliflower, broken into separate florets

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 - 1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 cup milk infused for 30 minutes with 1 bay leaf, 6 whole black peppercorns, 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half, a few sprigs of thyme and 1/2 red onion

1 cup grated cheese, divided into 2 (I used pecorino, cheddar and Gruyere)

1/2 tsp mustard powder or prepared mustard

salt and pepper

a few sprinkles of paprika 

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or panko

Pre heat the oven to 400oF.

First, pour the milk into a jug or bowl and add all the aromatics. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes to envelop all the flavours. 

Cook the cauliflower in a large pan of boiling salted water until just cooked. Leave it to drain while you make the sauce, you want it to be very dry when you blanket it with the sauce or it will get soggy. 

To make the sauce, first melt the butter over medium heat and then add the flour. Starting with 1/2 tbsp, stir the flour into the butter until completely incorporated. If you think the mixture is too thin, add some more flour up to 1 tbsp. (Remember that the sauce will thicken when you add the milk). Cook gently for about 3 minutes to lessen the raw flour taste. 

Drain the milk of all it's flavourings and add a little at a time to the flour and butter mixture, stirring very well until all the milk has been used. Let the mixture slowly bubble over low heat whereas it will begin to thicken. After a few minutes, you can add a little more milk if you think it is too thick, but don't make it too thin or it won't properly cover the cauliflower and will become too watery once baked.

Remove the sauce from the heat and add half the cheese, mustard and seasonings. Stir well to melt the cheese. 

Place the well drained cauliflower in a baking dish and spoon the sauce all over. Finish by scattering the breadcrumbs and remaining cheese over the top and sprinkling with a little paprika. 

Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy and the sauce bubbling and piping hot.