I love cooking vegetables in different ways, rather than just boiling them and serving them plain with your meal. I also love experimenting with meals that highlight vegetables rather than always cooking with meat. One of the tastiest dishes I have made is broccoli and cauliflower gratin, which is delicious as a meal on its own or as a vegetable accompaniment to meat. It goes down well in my household, as my children love both cauliflower and broccoli.
It is quick and simple to make as it just involves cooking broccoli and cauliflower and then adding a cheese sauce. I use double the amount of the basic cheese sauce recipe when I make this dish and add some English mustard for extra flavour. I also switch the white pepper to black. To make the topping golden and crunchy, you will also need to bake the dish in the oven.
Here is how to make a delicious broccoli and cauliflower gratin.
| Preparation time: 10 minutes | |
| Cooking time: 35 minutes | |
| Servings: 4 main meals or 6 accompaniments | |
| Vegetarian/ Vegan: Vegetarian- YES Vegan- NO | |
| Dairy-free: NO | |
| Gluten-free: NO |
Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin Recipe
Course: Accompaniments, dips, and sauces, Recipes, Vegetarian and Vegan RecipesCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes35
minutesYES
NO
NO
YES
An easy recipe for broccoli and cauliflower gratin, which you can eat as either a main meal or an accompaniment.
Ingredients for Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin
1 head of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
2 oz/ 50 g butter
2 oz/ 50 g plain flour
6 oz/ 160 g cheese for the sauce
3 oz/ 80 g cheese for topping
2 slices of stale bread, crumbed
2 tbsp English mustard
1200 ml/ 2-pint milk
Black pepper and salt
Directions: How to Make Cauliflower and Broccoli Gratin
- Measure your ingredients first.
- Remove the leaves and main stem from the cauliflower and broccoli, then break into florets.
- Add cauliflower and broccoli to a pan of salted boiling water.
- While the broccoli and cauliflower are cooking, start the cheese sauce.
- Melt the butter in a pan over low heat.
- Sieve the flour into the melted butter and stir.
- Cook for two minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk a little at a time, continuously stirring until you have created a smooth sauce.
- Season with salt and black pepper, and add the mustard.
- Simmer gently over low heat for approximately eight minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese.
- Drain the broccoli and cauliflower before adding to a large, oven-proof dish. Any excess water will cause the sauce to split, so dabbing with kitchen paper can help thoroughly dry the broccoli and cauliflower.
- Pour over the cheese sauce so it is evenly distributed.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the dish, and then add the breadcrumbs.
- Cook on high heat in the oven for 15 minutes or until the top of the gratin is golden brown.
Additional Tips
- Meat lovers: If you do not enjoy vegetarian meals, this is delicious if you add your leftover ham.
- Toppings: Instead of breadcrumbs, you can try crushed cornflakes or crushed ready-salted crisps for a crunchier topping.
- Adapting: Omit the mustard if you do not like this ingredient or have a mustard allergy. Try a crushed clove of garlic for a different flavour.
- Serving: Serve your broccoli and cauliflower gratin on its own as a tasty vegetarian dish or as an accompaniment to a meat dish.
Did You Enjoy Our Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin Recipe?
Let us know in the comments below. You might also like to try our salmon and broccoli tagliatelle recipe or cauliflower and spinach curry recipe.