Periodically we get a delicious cauliflower in our Farmhouse Delivery bushel. Very honestly, I'm not a huge cauliflower fan, but anything can taste good with enough cheese and heavy cream, right? This recipe has become our go-to staple for a cauliflower's arrival, and everyone loves it.
Cauliflower and Collards Gratin
1 head cauliflower
3-4 collard leaves
1 pt heavy cream
3/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
Nutmeg to taste
pepper to taste
Butter for dish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375.
Wash and roughly chop the cauliflower. I like a good mixture of small and large pieces, with no piece larger than 1"x1"
Wash the collard leaves. Cut out the tough inner stem, then roll and chiffonade. (Not sure how to chiffonade? Check out this video!)
Butter a glass baking dish. I like using a 3 qt rectangular dish, but use whatever size you feel works best for the size of your cauliflower.
Put half of the cauliflower in the dish, followed by the chard, and then another layer of cauliflower.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, pour the heavy cream and 1/2 cup of cheese. Stir slowly and frequently until the cheese in melted into the cream.
Add nutmeg (freshly grated is best!) and pepper. I usually use about 1 Tbl of nutmeg and 12-15 twists of the pepper grinder, but feel free to taste and use what works best for you.
Pour the cream and cheese mixture over the cauliflower, then top with the remaining cheese.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.
Remove the foil and let the cheese on top slightly brown before serving.
After this dish is baked, I've turned off the oven and let it stay warm for a couple of hours with no problems.