I'm not too sure where the inspiration for this dish came from - could it have been inspired by the *two* heads of organic-box cauliflower that seemed to be conspiring to ambush us at the first opportunity? I don't really know for sure... but I do know that we were very, very aware of that cauliflower and constantly of interesting ways to prepare them.
Finally, Friday evening (Good Friday, in fact) presented the perfect opportunity - we were well-rested and refreshed having had a long lie-in and, towards the end of a mellow, relaxed day, we were wanting something relatively simple yet rich, warming and interesting to eat. Cauliflower gratin seemed the perfect thing - once we'd established that we had everything we needed to make it, in the store-cupboard, of course. Best of all (at least for me!) we had rigatoni - my current favourite pasta - in the cupboard!
So we set about preparing the various components of the dish I had in mind - We prepared the béchamel, the cheeses (grated cheddar and emmanthal). Once ready, everything except the pasta was put in a gratin dish and baked in a 180˚C oven for approximately 45 minutes (until the crust was well-browned). Ten minutes or so before the gratin was ready to come out of the oven we cooked the rigatoni, as per the directions on the packet.
Once cooked, the pasta was served with generous lashings of sauce and cauliflower spooned over the top. Absolutely *devine*... rich... decadent, almost!
Be generous with the sauce...
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