Whole roasted paprika and fennel cauliflower with cheese sauce

Whole roasted cauliflower with smoked paprika and fennel seeds. There’s only one addition that makes it even better – a jug of flowing tasty cheese sauce.

Turn cauliflower cheese into an impressive and memorable main course by baking it whole and serving the cheese sauce separately.

Cauliflower

1 large	Cauliflower (Main)
3 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 tsp	Smoked paprika (Main)
¼ tsp	Fennel seeds (Main)
1 tsp	Flaky sea salt
1 serving	Freshly ground black pepper

Cheese sauce

2 Tbsp	Butter
2 Tbsp	Standard flour
400 ml	Whole milk, cold (Main)
1 serving	Salt
1 dash	Dijonnaise mustard (Main)

Directions

Whole roasted cauliflower

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Remove one-quarter of the core from the cauliflower, and the leaves, but be careful not to chop away too much or it won't hold together.
2. Mix 2 tablespoons of oil, paprika, fennel seeds, salt and pepper together. Spoon one-third of the dressing through the centre of the cauliflower and leave it for 5 minutes to dribble through. Place it snowy curd uppermost in a shallow ovenproof dish lined with baking paper. Dab remaining dressing over the cauliflower using a brush. It splatters a bit, so stick the whole thing in the sink while you do it (easier to clean up).
3. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove dish from oven and dab with olive oil and spoon over any juices that have accumulated in the dish. Return cauliflower to oven and cook for a further 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part meets just a little resistance (the cauliflower will continue to soften a little as it stands). Spoon over any juices and rest it for 5 minutes before serving. Accompany with a jug of cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce

1. Gently melt butter in a small saucepan, remove pan from heat, stir in flour, then whisk in milk one-third at a time.
2. Put pan over a medium heat and cook, whisking continually, until it thickens. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, stirring, then season with a few generous pinches of salt and mustard.
3. If the sauce is very thick, whisk in a little more milk.
4. Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese. Beat until smooth and pour into a heated jug. Serve immediately.

See more cauliflower recipes

• Tandoori cauliflower
• Roasted thai green cauliflower