This Champagne Roasted Cauliflower gets the Academy Award for Best Supporting Role! It is easy, elegant and does triple duty.
What Makes This Recipe Special
- You can make it a few days ahead and reheat, or even freeze it and reheat.
- It serves 8-12 which is perfect for a holiday meal.
- Leftovers are as good or better than the original. See recipe ideas below.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
The Champagne and Gruyere are the 2 ingredients that make this dish a standout... without them, you just have cauliflower in a white sauce.
Gruyere - Gruyere has a signature taste, but I have substituted other nutty cheeses, such as Jarlsberg, and it is still very good.
Champagne- Any dry white Sparkling wine is fine. I use Henkell Trocken because you can buy it in sets of 3- 200 millilitre bottles, which are great for cooking. (Saves you having to drink the rest!)
Leftover Ideas
The leftovers are great just as they are, but you can get way more creative than that!
- You can reheat the leftovers and pour the sauce over baked potatoes for a satisfying 'meatless Monday' kinda meal. The cheese sauce really shines over the lowly potato! Because there is no competition from other flavours, you can really enjoy the cheesy creaminess of the sauce.
- The next bonus for this recipe is that you can purée the leftovers and make them into an amazing soup. You need 2 cups of the pan juices for the sauce for the main dish but I usually have about 3 cups after the cauliflower has roasted, so I save the extra cup and add it to the leftover casserole to bring the soup to the consistency I want. You may need to add some chicken broth as well, depending on how much of the casserole you are blending. Freeze the purée to use when it suits you. Believe me - I have been so happy to find that container in my freezer a month after Thanksgiving is just a memory, and you are looking for a comfy, cozy supper!
Wine Pairing
If this is being served with a holiday dinner, you will probably match your wine to the main. But, if this is going to be one of the stronger flavours in your dinner, think about serving a dry white Sparkling or a Chardonnay.
Related Recipes
Champagne Roasted Cauliflower
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Save Print Pin FacebookIngredients
Cauliflower
- 2 medium heads of cauliflower (about 8 cups)
- 400 mil champagne (approx 2 cups) See Note 1.
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Sauce
- 2 Tbsps butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 oz Gruyere cheese grated See note 2.
- 2 cups pan juices from roasting pan (reserve remainder if you want to make soup with leftovers) See Note 3.
Instructions
Cauliflower
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Clean and roughly chop cauliflower. Spray a 9 X13" oven proof dish and transfer cauliflower to the pan.
- Mix the champagne, broth, garlic, thyme and seasonings together and pour over the cauliflower.
- Cook covered for approximately 25 minutes. Stir, uncover and roast for a further 20-25 minutes.
Sauce
- When you remove cauliflower from the oven drain off the liquid and reserve. You will need 2 cups to add to the sauce.
- Melt butter in a large skillet, whisk in the flour.
- When flour is incorporated whisk in 2 cups of the pan juices and the milk. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the cheese and continue to whisk to keep the sauce smooth. Whisk for approximately 5 minutes. Sauce should have thickened to a creamy, cheesy consistency. Add the cauliflower to the skillet to coat with the sauce.
- Transfer to your serving dish.
Sharon
This is such a wonderful change from the usual side dishes at our holiday meals! Everyone loves it. Thanks!
Carolyn Hetke
Thanks for sharing! It is hard to get a photo that does justice to the interesting taste here!