Cauliflower Gratin With Leeks and White Cheddar

Can I use something other than heavy cream? Is it advisable to make and freeze all but bread crumb topping? Thanks!

I've cooked this 3 times in the last 3 weeks, so, yes, I love this dish. Made it once with coconut milk since that was what I had & it didn't change the flavor or texture at all. Like many, it took about twice the indicated time before the cauliflower was fork tender. I added a wee bit of ancho chili flakes with the salt & pepper for a little zing, & also squeezed on a bit of lemon when I took it out of the oven. It's very rich & so tasty that I always want to eat more than I ought.

Learned a trick about leeks when my kids gave me lessons at a cooking school. Cut an X in the base of the leeks and immerse in a glass or bowl of water. Leave it at least 5 or ten minutes. The water will become surprisingly sandy. Change the water and repeat. After the third time it's usually clear, but if not, do it again. It does take about half an hour, but only about three minutes of activity. Just let it happen in the background.

This is great. I forgot to buy a leek and used an onion, used Gruyere and Parmesan instead of cheddar because that’s what I had, and sprinkled bread crumbs on top. Delicious.

as previously noted, I loved this dish and have made it a few times since first discovering. In case anyone wants to try substituting half and half, I did try it once with half and half because that is what I had in the house and it did come out watery. Never had a problem with wateriness with the heavy cream as the recipe calls for. Will go back to using heavy cream. Wateriness definitely detracts from the perfection of the original recipe. Agree that one should use a high end cheddar.

Doubled recipe and subbed plain Greek yogurt for the cream (as another reviewer did). I probably ended up with a very different dish, but what I lost in the indulgently creamy department I gained a lovely tanginess and less guilt! It cooked for about 40 mins with foil. Cauliflower tender and very delicious!

I would recommend parboiling the cauliflower before popping the dish in the oven. I parboiled them for 3 minutes but it wasn't enough. I suggest at least 5. I also added wonder flour to the cream before adding that to the dish to thicken it. It was still a bit runny but not too bad. I highly recommend a good white cheddar. I used Irish from Trader Joes. Delish.

This was super easy to make and delicious. I added the bread crumb topping and it made a nice crunchy contrast to the soft cauliflower. FYI, it look 30 minutes in the oven, not 10-15, to get the cauliflower nearly tender before removing the foil. I used a ceramic oval baking dish.

What bread crumb topping...?

A hit! I did make it with the white beans (about 3/4 of a can, drained, rinsed), thyme, and about 1T of Dijon whisked into the cream; added a topping of panko mixed with parmesan and some almond flour (I try to add protein where I can for my vegetarian teen). Also, Trader Joes was out of fresh cauliflower so I bought their 1 lb bag of frozen grilled cauliflower which worked perfectly. Used gruyere instead of cheddar. So this is a riff on the original, but so glad to have been inspired!

Made a small version of this which was astoundingly good. Used 2% milk and made bechemel, added mushroom stock powder, white pepper, very small amt whole grain dejon mustard. Used combination of extra sharp cheddar & Asiago.

Ran to the store today to get white cheddar just for this recipe. It’s delicious. Made 1/2 the recipe using 1 lb bag of Trader Joe’s fresh riced cauliflower, a baby leek from the green market and half and half, because those ingredients were already in the house. I’m having my vegetables! Yay me.

Fantastic! I made this dish for a pre-holiday dinner with a few minor changes. I couldn't find leeks and was not willing to make a 3rd stop, so used shallots instead and added some garlic. Used the inner leaves. Added some nutmeg. I found it took nearly 25 minutes covered to get the cauliflower tender, then cooked uncovered for another 30. I used melted butter with the olive oil, a rich, buttery aged Irish cheddar, and whole cream. Not watery as some noted. Delicious with many compliments.

My husband said this is the only way he wants cauliflower prepared for the rest of his life. It's absolutely delicious, super rich, and couldn't be simpler to prepare. Attempting to slice perfect 1/2 inch slices creates so many "crumbs" and small pieces. Next time I might just do small florets and diced stem instead.

This is excellent / easy. Even better the next day. The leaks, cauliflower and cheese blend great. Followed the recipe with the exception of cook time. Read everybody’s comments 1st. Cooked it longer then 1st apparent in the recipe but not much. Did 30 mins with aluminum foil on, figured it would steam the cauliflower, then did about 25 mins with no foil. Wanted time off to evaporate it. There must be a time balance between over cooking the CF creating more moisture and not. Was Perfect!