Description
In this otherwise humble gratin, we’re going to use another, much more delicious delivery system of truffles: truffle pecorino cheese. For less than $10 worth of cheese, I think you can get a nicer, truer truffle flavor. By the way, if you know they actually make this cheese with synthetic truffle oil, please keep it to yourself, and don’t spoil it for me.
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons butter, divided
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 5 ounces truffled pecorino cheese, grated, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 large head cauliflower, cored and separated into florets
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
- Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk flour into butter; cook and stir until raw flour taste cooks off
- 2 to 3 minutes.
- Gradually whisk milk into flour mixture. Increase heat to medium-high; cook and stir until mixture thickens and comes to a simmer
- 5 to 10 minutes. Stir truffled pecorino cheese
- salt
- cayenne pepper
- and nutmeg into milk mixture until cheese sauce thickens.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add cauliflower and cook until slightly tender
- about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer cauliflower to the prepared baking dish.
- Spread cheese sauce evenly over cauliflower. Dust with bread crumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Bake in the preheated oven until browned and bubbling
- about 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh chives.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 hr
Servings: 8