Faux Mac and Cheese

This recipe started out from a Tweet I got from someone asking me if I had any ideas for a way to make mac and cheese without noodle. My first thought was “why?” followed shortly by “why me?” But I quickly rebounded and through out a couple of ideas… and this was one of them. Substituting cauliflower for the pasta.

This was a couple weeks ago, and I finally got around to trying it myself. The cheese sauce is based on one I’ve used in the past. To up the creaminess factor I use some evaporated milk. And yea, I know it’s really just a cheesy-cauliflower bake, but hey… I like the idea that it’s a possible sub for the usual mac & cheese side dish. Now it’s not going to exactly be “low-calorie”, we’ve got milk, more milk, and cheese… but there’s no simple-carb pasta in here. So that’s something, right?

I served this up tonight with some homemade fish sticks… good stuff.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour (I used whole wheat, cause it’s what I have on hand)
1 cup milk (I used soy, cause again, it’s what I keep on hand)
1-5oz can Evaporated Milk (NOT! Sweetened Condensed Milk)
6 oz shredded, sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1-16oz bag frozen cauliflower
1-2 Tbsp ground flax seed

Chop up the cauliflower into small pieces, roughly the size of your typical elbow macaroni. I steamed the cauliflower a couple minutes – it wasn’t fully “cooked”, just enough to make it easier to chop up.

I steamed the cauliflower a bit, but not all the way done to make it easier to chop up. I layered this in to baking pan.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter over medium-low heat, stir in the flower. When it starts to bubble start incorporating the milks, about a quarter cup at a time, stirring constantly and waiting for the mixture to bubble a bit between additions.

Once all the milk has been incorporated, add about 5 ounces of the cheese, stir to melt and pour over the cauliflower. Stir a bit to mix in, then sprinkle the remaining cheese and ground flax seeds on top.

Bake about 25minute.