Grainfree, SCD Cauliflower Cheese

Name: Grainfree, SCD Cauliflower Cheese
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 whole head of cauliflower; 100 g mature cheddar cheese; 50 g butter; 200 g mature cheddar cheese; 3-4 tbsps coconut flour or gram flour; 600 ml almond milk; salt and black pepper

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This is one of those dishes that I’ve been craving for ages and has now become a reality thanks to the invention of my flour and milk-free Bechamel Sauce. SCD Cauliflower Cheese is of those foods that most people have as a side dish but which I could have for dinner just on its own! I love the melty, cheesy, rich taste and to me, it’s the ultimate comfort food.

Start by preheating your oven to 220C (420F). Then, the first thing to do is to make the cheese sauce. This is basically a béchamel or white sauce that you then add cheese to. I have two recipes that you can use as a base. One is strict SCD, as it’s made with coconut flour. You can find the original Béchamel Sauce recipe here. However, if you can tolerate Gram Flour (Chickpea Flour) then try substituting it for coconut flour in the béchamel sauce. It’s a new twist on the recipe that is slightly more savoury and a bit less granular than the coconut flour version. I’ll get it up on the blog shortly!

To be honest, in this recipe, it doesn’t matter much either way. Just go with whichever ingredients you tolerate best. There’s enough cheese in this recipe to hide any other flavours so you’ll barely taste a difference!

So to make the cheese sauce you begin by melting butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once the butter is melted add half of the gram or coconut flour and stir to combine. Keep adding the flour until the butter is all incorporated and you have a kind of dough or paste. Next, add a tiny bit of the almond milk and stir into the dough to thin it out. Keep adding the almond milk bit by bit and stirring to combine. If you do it bit by bit, fingers crossed you won’t get any lumps! And there you have your béchamel sauce.

Now to make it cheesy! Add two-thirds of the cheese to the sauce (you can just slice it up or grate it if you prefer). Make sure you use a strong cheddar or something similar as you really want the cheese flavour to come through. Stir the cheese through until it is all melted. Season well with salt and pepper and leave on a low heat on the stove while you prepare the cauliflower. It will thicken up a bit more as it cooks longer.

Roux with Butter & Gram (Chickpea Flour)

White Sauce with Butter, Gram Flour & Almond Milk

Cheese Sauce with Butter, Gram Flour & Almond Milk

While the sauce is thickening on the stove-top, chop the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Steam these for around 6-8 mins until they are fairly tender. Then, drain the cauliflower and add to an oven-proof dish.

Once the cheese sauce has thickened to the right consistency, pour it all over the steamed cauliflower. It should be thick enough to coat it and stick to it. Slice the remaining cheese and use it to top the dish with. Pop the dish into the oven and cook for 20-30 mins…

Grainfree SCD Cauliflower Cheese Before Baking

…until the cheese on the top has melted and is browned and bubbling.

This recipe makes enough for 4 people as a side dish or 2 as a main meal. I’ve served it twice this week, alongside my Roast Rib of Beef and also my Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb and I promise you that you would never know that the Bechamel Sauce is a healthier, Paleo version, you can’t taste the difference at all. I didn’t mention what it was made from until after the meal and all of my guests agreed that they couldn’t taste the difference. Cheesy, creamy, decadently rich and perfect as a side to a roast dinner, your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal, or, just on its own!