My Chouchoux: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese with Bacon 焗烤花椰菜與培根通心麵

Having access to a kitchen while traveling, to me, is essential. We rarely stay in hotels; instead, we often book our stay with Airbnb. Staying and eating out in a metropolitan city like Copenhagen for almost two weeks can be quite costly. To spend our budget economically, I often choose lunch, rather than dinner, to eat out (since most restaurants offer special and more affordable lunch menus) and just a few nights out for dinner when we really want to enjoy the night view and hang out late.

It was about two and half years ago, during our stay in Copenhagen, when I first made this dish. Whenever I’m in a new place, I’m always curious to see what the local market/supermarket has to offer. There, I was surprised to see that cauliflower was not as expensive as it had been in the States and Canada at that time. Besides a few root vegetables, it was one of the more affordable vegetables at the market, so without thinking about what I was going to make, I just put it in my basket right away!

The next day, I went through all the ingredients I bought, among them, a bag of gluten-free pasta (which I almost always buy when traveling). It’s an easy carb to have, and in case I don’t finish it, I can always throw the rest in the suitcase and take it home—unlike fresh produce, which can be quite risky, since a lot of countries wouldn’t allow you to bring them in. I also bought some bacon and cheese, because I generally like the meat and dairy products better in Europe. I had been wanting to make a cauliflower mac’n cheese for quite a while, plus it would also be easy enough to reheat and would last several nights. Therefore, during our trip it was the perfect time to make it.

I first thought that I would find a recipe online and adapt it with my own ingredients, but I realized that all the cauliflower mac’n cheese recipes I came across were basically mac’n cheese with pieces of cauliflower floret added to it. I wanted to make one that looked just like a regular mac’n cheese, without being able to see the cauliflower florets. I decided to make my own version, and even without all the proper tools, in the end, it turned out really well! My husband could barely tell that there was cauliflower in there at all! We had it for a few nights and we still wished that there was more left…, which is why I decided to write this recipe, so I myself can make it again and again!

大約在兩年半前時，我們去了哥本哈根旅遊。一般旅遊的時候，我們很少住旅館，大部分都會儘量選擇有廚房的民宿。尤其是在ㄧ些大都市裡，隨便用個幾餐，ㄧ個人就至少一天要花上約$40-$50美金，特別像是在哥本哈根這種物價超高的大都市，可以想像停留兩個星期再加上每天在外用餐的費用肯定是不低！要不想花費超過經濟預算，我們通常會選擇午餐在外面吃，因為很多餐館都有商業午餐，價格較合理，然後我們再另外挑幾個晚上去比較特別的餐廳享用晚餐，順利感受一下夜晚不同的景色。

每當我去到ㄧ個新的地方，我對當地的傳統市場或超市都會很好奇，當時很驚訝那裡的白色花椰菜價格比在美國和加拿大要親和許多！除了ㄧ些根莖類的蔬菜之外，大部分的綠色蔬菜都不便宜，所以當時雖然沒有特別想到要做什麼料理，但我馬上就抓了ㄧ顆白色花椰菜放入藍子裡。

回家後隔天把所有買的食物拿出來，想想既然有義大利麵、也有起司與一點培根，那就乾脆來做個焗烤花椰菜烤通心麵吧！其實我想嘗試這個通心已經很久了，只是當時一直沒有機會研究，那ㄧ陣子在國外正風行將白色花椰菜融合在無麩質飲食裡。況且ㄧ次烤多一點，白天在外旅遊景點，回到家只要加熱、並搭配些簡單的沙拉就可以吃幾餐，想著想著就到網絡上找食譜。找了很久，卻發現所有看到的焗烤花椰菜烤通心粉食譜都是有ㄧ塊塊的花椰菜在裡面，而我所想做的是將花椰菜隱藏起來，能看到的只有通心麵，使它看起來與ㄧ般的焗烤通心麵完全ㄧ樣！

就這樣，我決定以這個想法來做做看，也是我第一次做這個食譜。我將花椰菜融合在那醬裡，當時在那民宿的廚房裡並沒有太多的用具，無法將花椰菜打的很碎，不過做出來的味道與口感還是相當的棒，連老公都幾乎沒吃出來那裡面竟含有ㄧ整顆的花椰菜！而且除了起司之外，我並沒有使用其它乳製品(如鮮奶油或酸奶)。我們連續吃了幾天晚上，因為太好吃了，甚至希望還有剩餘的！平時不喜歡吃蔬菜的大人或小孩們都會愛上這個食譜的！

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (6-8 serveings)

1 large cauliflower (about 1,000 g/2 lb + 3 oz)

125 g/4.5 oz bacon, cut into 1/2” pieces

1 1/4 C chopped onions

1 1/2 t chopped garlic

1 C water

225 g/8 oz gluten-free dry macaroni

A: 1 C milk (I actually used homemade vegan milk)

1 T mustard

1/4 t nutmeg, ground

B: 1 3/4 C sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 1/4 C gouda, shredded (you can use a milder cheese, like mozzarella or
provolone)

2 T chopped parsley

sea salt and black pepper

1. Wash and trim the cauliflower and cut it into small pieces.

2. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir occasionally and cook until just slightly crispy.

3. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and transfer them on a plate that’s lined with a piece of paper towel. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings and discard the rest or save the rest for other use.

4. In the same skillet, add the onions with the bacon dripping. Stir occasionally and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes until everything is soft. Remove about 1/4 of the garlic and onion mixture and set aside.

5. Add the cauliflower and water to the skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 12 minutes until soft. Stir twice during the cooking.

6. When the cauliflower mixture is slightly cooled, transfer it to a food processor and blend it until smooth. If it seems too dry, add a little more water.

7. Preheat the oven to 425 F/225 C. Mix ingredients B together and reserve 1 cup on the side.

8. Heat 2 qt of water on the stove. When the water is boiling, add the dried macaroni. Follow the cooking instruction from the package but cook 1 minute less. Drain the macaroni and set aside. Reserve about 1/4 cup of pasta water.

9. Place the reserved garlic and onion mixture, cauliflower purée, 3/4 of the bacon pieces, and ingredients A in a sauce pan over medium high heat and stir with a whisk until hot. Add ingredients B. Continue to cook and stir for another 2 minutes until all the cheese is melted. Turn off heat. Add the cooked macaroni to the sauce and mix well. *If it seems too thick, add a little bit of the reserved pasta water.

10. Check the seasoning. Spoon the mamaroni into a 2 qt baking dish, and sprinkle the rest of the bacon and reserved cheese on top.

11. Transfer the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. If the top is not browned, put it under a broiler for 1-2 minutes.

12. Sprinkle the parsley on top and serve.

Make ahead options:

1. Make the cauliflower purée in advance by following procedures 1 to 6 either up to 2 days before the day you’re serving and store it in the fridge, or 2 months before and freeze it.

2. Make the unfinished dish in advance by following procedures 1 to 10 either up to 2 days before the day you’re serving and store it in the fridge, or 2 months before and freeze it.

Cover the dish with a piece of aluminum foil and bake it in 425 F/225 C oven for 15 minutes first, then uncover and bake it for another 15 minutes. If it’s not golden brown, put it under a broiler for 1-2 minutes. (*If it’s frozen, remove the unbaked dish from the freezer and put it in the fridge at least 24 hours before baking to defrost.)

3. You may also divide the unbaked macaroni and cheese into several medium size or individual size baking dishes. Bake only the portion you’ll be eating, and either refrigerate or freeze the rest. (*Read option 2 above to see instructions on how to refrigerate or freeze and bake.)

- Yvonne

焗烤花椰菜與培根通心麵 (6-8 人份)

白花椰菜 1 大顆 (約1000 g/2 lb + 3 oz)

培根 125 g (切成約1.2 cm寬)

洋蔥丁 1 1/4 杯

蒜末 1 1/2 小匙

水 3/4 杯

通心麵 225 g/8 oz (我使用的是無麩質的通心麵)

A: 牛奶 1 杯 (我使用的是自製的素奶)

芥末醬 2 小匙

豆蔻粉 1/4 小匙

B: 陳年巧達乳酪絲(sharp cheddar) 2 杯

豪達乳酪絲 (Gouda) 1 1/4 杯 (若喜歡口味較淡的乳酪，也可以使

用mozzarella乳酪絲來待替)

巴西里 2 大匙, 切碎

海鹽少許

黑胡椒粉少許

1. 將白色花椰菜洗淨後處理好切小塊。

2. 將大型的平底鍋稍微加熱，放入培根以中小火慢慢煸出油，並煎至有點金黃後取出放在舖有紙巾的盤子上，放置ㄧ旁備用。

3. 在平底鍋內留下2大匙的培根油，放入洋蔥丁與少許海鹽以中小火炒約8分鐘後加入蒜末，再繼續炒2-3分鐘至軟，取出約1/4的分量保留放置ㄧ旁備用。

4. 在同ㄧ個平底鍋中加入花椰菜、水與少許海鹽，蓋上鍋蓋，滾後以中小火煮10-12分鐘至熟軟。

5. 將稍微冷卻的花椰菜放入攪拌器打細成泥。*如果太乾，可以再多加一點水。

6. 將烤箱預熱至225 C/425 F，並將B料混合在一起，取1杯的分量保留放置ㄧ旁備用。

7. 將一鍋水煮滾，加入通心麵，按照包裝上的指示烹煮，但將烹煮時間減少1分鐘。煮好後瀝乾，保留約1/4杯的水。

8. 在煮通心麵的同時，將打好的花椰菜泥、A料與之前放置ㄧ旁備用的洋蔥與3/4的培根都ㄧ起放入ㄧ個大的平底鍋中，以攪拌器混合所有材料並以中火加熱至滾。

9. 將B料加入鍋中繼續以小火加熱約2分鐘，並攪拌至全部的起司都融化，熄火後加入煮好的通心麵ㄧ起拌好並調味。*若感覺太稠，可以倒入ㄧ點之前煮麵保留的水。

10. 將與醬拌好的通心麵放入ㄧ個大的烤盤，在上面撒上之前保留的培根與B料。

11. 將烤盤放入烤箱烤約15分鐘，如果表面還未呈金黃色，可以最高溫再烤約1分鐘。

12. 撒上ㄧ點巴西里ㄧ起食用。

提前準備的不同方式：

1. 在食用1至2天前按照部驟1-5將花椰菜泥先做好儲存在冰箱，或者放置冷凍庫儲藏1至2個月備用。

2. 在食用1至2天前按照部驟1-10將未焗烤的通心麵先做好放入烤盤儲存在冰箱，或者放置冷凍庫儲藏1至2個月備用。

烘烤時，蓋上鋁箔紙以225 C/425 F先烤15分鐘，拿掉鋁箔紙再繼續烤15分鐘，如果表面還未呈金黃色，可以最高溫再烤約1-2分鐘。(*若從冷凍庫拿出，必需在烘烤前至少24小時放置冰箱內退冰)。

3. 也可以將未烘烤的通心麵分別放入幾個中型或小型的烤盤內，烘烤需要食用的份量，然後將其餘的份量放入冰箱或冷凍庫備用 (*請參考#2)。

- Yvonne

If your cauliflower comes with some leaves, do not throw them away! They have great nutritional values and taste delicious simply blanched and sautéed or roasted with either cauliflower florets or broccoli florets!

如果花椰菜買來有葉子，不要把它們丟去，它們可是很有營養價值喔！可以切除下來，稍微燙ㄧ下與其它的蔬菜ㄧ起炒或以烤箱高溫烤至有點金黃後食用。