Cauliflower , chicken and cheese gratin


Happy New Year , guys !!!! Wishing you all a healthy and productive 2016 !

And what better way to start the year by eating more veggies ? Okay , the original recipe is actually quiet healthy until I made some tweaks on it lol Nah , I just want to make something hearty so I added some chicken and quail eggs on mine .

I love thyme and it goes really great with chicken so a day before I cooked this dish , I visited several supermarkets , sadly , I didn't find some . Maybe , because it was after Christmas , and most people here had roasted chicken with lemon and thyme the night before ? Ha !


Anyway , I used dried thyme , which is pretty good sub and added fresh cilantro , just because .

The dish is pretty simple but remember when making the sauce , add the milk gradually as you stir it to the roux ( butter and flour mixture ) or else you'll have a lumpy sauce , which what happened to mine until I smoothen it out tsk tsk !

If you love cauliflower as much as I do , you'll gonna love this dish !


Please check original recipe @ Delicious magazine

For the creamy cheese sauce :

30 grams butter
30 grams all-purpose flour
400 ml ( UHT ) whole milk
3 tablespoons double cream
100 grams mild cheddar , grated plus extra for topping
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus extra for garnish
salt and black pepper , to taste

1 medium cauliflower , about 5 to 6-inches diameter , cut into florets
1 leek , cut into 1-inch lenghts
250 grams boneless , skin on chicken leg , cut into bite-sized pieces
12 quail eggs , boiled and peeled

*Preheat oven to 200°C .

* Season chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon chicken powder , pinch of dried thyme and 1/2 teaspoon oil . Pan-fry chicken , skin side down first , over high heat until golden brown , about a minute or so , transfer to a plate and set aside .

* Melt butter in a pan , when it foams , add flour and stir for a minute . Gradually add milk and stirring until sauce is smooth . Add in dried thyme and chilli flakes , stir and let simmer for 2 minutes , remove from heat then stir in the cream and cheese . Season well with salt and pepper , stir in chopped cilantro .

* Meanwhile , cook cauliflower and leek in a pot of boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes or until just tender . Drain well .

* Transfer the boiled vegetables , chicken and quail eggs in casserole dish ( 9x13-inch would be great ,  I used 2 8-inch as I don't a big one ) . Pour in the cheese sauce and mix . Sprinkle some extra cheese on top .

*Bake for 30 minutes until golden . Serve hot .


Comments

  1. Healthy and so very delicious! I love that creamy cheesy sauce.
    Happy New Year, Anna.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks really nice and i like the way you serve it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Anne, this looks rather easy to make. I will give it a try this weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Anne,I stated to blog again after about 6 months. How are you? Happy New Year!
    This looks like a wonderful and easy recipe.

    ReplyDelete

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