Cauliflower Gratin
There is a passage in The Gastronomical Me I haven’t been able to get out of my head for years. It seems to me there may not be a more perfect meal, and certainly not a better telling:
As I remember, the thing we all liked best, with the salad and Lawrence’s wine, was a casserole of cauliflower, and bread and fruit afterwards. I made it so often that it became as natural as sneezing to me, and I was put off track completely when I got back to America and found how different it was. . .the manner of doing it, the flavor, everything.
There in Dijon, the cauliflowers were small and very succulent, grown in that ancient soil. I separated the flowerlets and dropped them in boiling water for just a few minutes. Then I drained them and put them in a wide shallow casserole, covered them with heavy cream and a thick sprinkling of freshly grated Gruyère, the nice rubbery kind that didn’t come from Switzerland at all, but from the Jura. It was called râpé in the market, and was grated while you watched, in soft cloudy pile, onto your piece of paper.
I put some fresh pepper over the top, and in a way I can’t remember now the little tin oven heated the whole thing and melted the cheese and browned it. As soon as that had happened we ate it.
The cream and cheese had come together into a perfect sauce, and the little flowers were tender and fresh. We cleaned our plates with bits of crisp bread crust and drank the wine, and Al and Lawrence planned to write books about Aristotle and Robinson Jeffers and probably themselves, and I planned a few things, too.
And as I say, once back in California, after so many of those casseroles, I found I could never make one. [. . .] I could concoct a good dish, still. . .but it was never so innocent, so simple. . .and then where was the crisp bread, where the honest wine? And where were our young uncomplicated hungers, too?
Hoping that I am in possession of a young, uncomplicated hunger, I finally set about making my own cauliflower gratin, following Fisher’s narrative recipe, fingers crossed I would find it as magical. My cauliflower isn’t grown in ancient soil, but it is grown in fine organic dirt somewhere upstate. And with what is, for now, an uncomplicated hunger, I think that should more than suffice.
Cauliflower Gratin
Serves 2-3
1 head of the loveliest snow white farmer’s market cauliflower you can find
butter, to grease dish
1 clove garlic
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Gruyère
fresh black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Core cauliflower and separate the florets. Bring an inch of water to boil in pot, drop in the cauliflower, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile, butter your casserole dish, and rub one crushed clove of garlic all over the interior of dish, which will just faintly flavor your casserole.
Drain your cauliflower florets and arrange in an even layer in your buttered dish. Pour cream all around, sprinkle cheese over top, and grind lots of pepper over the top. Pop in the oven and wait as “the cream and cheese had come together into a perfect sauce, and the little flowers were tender and fresh,” about 25-35 minutes. Then set about eating and making your own plans.
Phoo-D: I’ve never done much with cauliflower. This looks like a simple and delicious to highlight the vegetable.3 years ago
Sarah: It couldn’t be simpler, but it is wonderfully delicious. Cooked cauliflower is soooo different from raw cauliflower, too.3 years ago
rachael speirs: oh man thats sounds decadent!!!!! My new years resolution is to get in shape…doing good so far…i guess a little cauliflower au gratin wont hurt.3 years ago
Adrienne: Oh, cauliflower is wonderful. And this is a perfectly delightful post. I shall search for snow white cauliflower!3 years ago
Koren: I love that essay and it always makes me crave cauliflower gratin. Viana La Place actually has a recipe where she tried to recreate this gratin using American ingredients, noting that cauliflower and cream both have different size/consistency here versus in France. I think the recipe is in Unplugged Kitchen but I’m not totally sure.3 years ago
Joy: I am going to order that book on Amazon now – perfect. Cauliflower cheese is delicious. I always associate it with roast beef with the meat juices mingling with the creamy sauce. If only the agreements I’m reviewing were as interesting as daydreaming about cream, cheese and cauliflower. Oh well.3 years ago
hobbit: Elegant and delicious! Sometimes it takes a classic to bring out your young uncomplicated hunger.3 years ago
Terry B: This sounds delicious! And I love the story that led up to the dish. I’ve never had much luck with flavoring dishes by just rubbing the pot or the food with garlic. I wonder if bashing a clove of garlic and adding it to the pot when you steam the cauliflower would do the trick.3 years ago
Julia - the Wounded Chef: looks yummy. it’s on my list to make a gratin of some sort this winter – potato, cauliflower, chard. thanks for this inspiration!3 years ago
MrsB: Oh now I think I am in love!! This is a gorgeous post! About ‘basics’. I love that word, I love its solidity, it reminds me of stationary shopping, of having the larder full, of the perfect black jumper, of family….! The basics! More, more, more! x3 years ago
Sarah: koren, i love that! i just kind of went for it, hoping that what fisher thought were such sad american ingredients have hopefully improved in the last few decades.
joy, get it! it’s fabulous. one of my favorites.
terry b, yeah, it’s pretty subtle, maybe to the point of imperceptibility. but either way, this dish doesn’t need much to be great.
julia, yes, bring on the gratins! i think you’ll be seeing more of them here, too.
mrs b, you are hysterical and you crack me up.
that’s what “the basics” makes me think of too, for sure.3 years ago
Sara Rose: This would be lovely with some freshly grated nutmeg incorporated into it and perhaps a bit of parsley. Not a lot of either- still want to keep it simple- but nutmeg does really amazing things for gruyere especially. I want this recipe right now with a big hunk of bread. Yum.3 years ago
Brooke: Sarah, Thank you for the sweet note on my blog. 2008 was a CRAZY year. Who knew I’d be a mom at 28 going on 29?? Not me… It’d be great to hear what you’re up to. Email me if you have a spare moment. xo.3 years ago
Retro Audrey: That description of making the gratin was amazing. It seriously made my heart sigh. I just trotted on over to Amazon and bought that book as well has her “The Art of Eating.”
Thank you so much for sharing. I can’t wait to make my own gratin and enjoy it with the book, some crusty bread and honest wine!3 years ago
Sarah: retro audrey, it is TOTALLY heart-sigh inducing — a perfect way to put it. i find all her writing like that. when you’re done with those you can move on to two towns in provence, another of my faves. no one writes about cobblestones like m.f.k.3 years ago
pattyskypants: I have been making this for decades and can attest that it is a MOST POPULAR dish that is instantly devoured by all! The cheese matters not; it is equally yummy with cheddar, jack, hot pepper cheese,brie! Use paprika instead of pepper. Also, add chopped celery for a bit of a tang.3 years ago
maggie: Oh, yum. Cauliflower gratin has been on my to-do list for awhile. Hoping it will satisfy my insatiable craving for mac-and-cheese?3 years ago
Sarah: maggie, it might come close!
3 years ago
Ashley: This looks fantastic! The photo is definitely drool-worthy…can’t wait to try it!3 years ago
George Erdosh: Looks great! I make something similar, passed down from my mother, but without the heavy cream.
Your blog is great!
Check out my latest (Nov/08). It3 years ago