Cauliflower Cheese Tart

Do you know that Cauliflower comes in yellow, orange, green and purple varieties besides the most common white ones?  I have seen perhaps the light green ones but have not seen the rest of the colours and am actually quite curious to find the purple and orange varieties, which I'm doubtful I can find it over here at all, at least not in my area.  Cauliflowers are packed with vitamins and nutrients and have no fat whatsoever, however do not eat more than 4 or 5 servings per week as it contains purines, which are broken down by the body to produce urid acid. Too much of urid acid in the body, could eventually lead to gout. Well, eat moderately and enjoy its benefits to the fullest! To know more about the health benefits of Cauliflowers, just google for info, you'll be surprised at how much health benefits this little veggie contains.  OK,  let's get on to the recipe.

I have been wanting to make Cauliflower Cheese Tart ever since I saw the recipe in a magazine. Many times I have bought some cauliflower for this purpose and each time it ended up stir-fried in my wok. But not this time! 

Do you like Cauliflower? We do! 

This is a lovely tart, it's meatless, only chunks of cauliflower, eggs and cheese. The recipe calls for a small amount of Grana Padano Cheese to be scattered on top, I have no idea what cheese it is, so I replaced that with Cheddar Cheese instead. I made my own shortcrust pastry, which you can get the recipe here, from my previous post, Cheese and Onion Quiche.

This is lovely for an afternoon lunch.  

Though this is lovely as it is, some pieces of chopped ham or bacon pieces added to the filling would be very delicious!

If you love cauliflower and cheese, then I'm sure you would like this, and if your household have picky eaters, perhaps some addition of bacon or chopped ham might be a good idea! 

I'm sharing this with :
Cookbook Sunday hosted by Couscous & Consciousness
Bake With Bizzy hosted by Bizzy Bakes


Cauliflower Cheese Tart
(adapted from "Olive" Magazine, December 2010 Issue)
shortcrust pastry (350gm) (I made my own shortcrust pastry, here)
cauliflower, 1 small head, broken into florets
2 tbsp plain flour
25gm butter
250ml milk
75gm cheddar cheese
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 eggs
20gm grated grana padano (I use Cheddar cheese)

1. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Roll out the pastry to 20p thickness then line a 23cm tart tin. Line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans then bake for 15 minutes. Take out the paper and beans and bake for another 5 minutes.
2. Cook the cauliflower in salted boiling water until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Drain well.
3. Put the flour, butter and milk in a pan. Heat, whisking all the time until it comes to a simmer and begins to thicken. Cook for 3 minutes then add the cheese and stir until melted. Cool a little then stir in the mustard and eggs. Add the cauliflower and stir well, then season.
4. Spoon the mix into the tart case, scatter over the grana padano, then return to the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.