Cauli Cheese Yufka

Name: Cauli Cheese Yufka
Total time: 3300 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 large cauliflower; 1 tbsp melted butter; 100 g chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned; 4 spring onions, chopped; 1/4 tsp chilli flakes; few grinds freshly ground sea salt; few grinds freshly ground black pepper; 4 sheets filo pastry; Sauce:; 25 g butter; 2 tbsp flour; 300 g hot milk; 100 g mature cheddar cheese, grated; 1 tsp English mustard; or made-up cheese sauce from granules

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

A crowd pleaser and a firm favourite of mine is Cauliflower Cheese Special from the St Michael (now known as M&S) All Colour Cookery Book 1976. Great served with roast meats such as gammon, mashed potatoes or just a chunk of crusty bread to mop up the velvety cheese sauce.

Over the years I have adapted it and included the leaves which are a good source of vitamins A, C and K as well as fibre, iron and calcium, added punchy English mustard, given it a zing with fried capers and replaced the button mushrooms with broccolini or woodland mushrooms but the heart of the recipe remains, a melt in the mouth dish.

This recipe is a Middle Eastern twist on this classic. Chanterelle mushrooms, chilli flakes and spring onions are added to the cauli cheese, enveloped with layers of paper-thin pastry then baked until golden and crispy.

Golden chanterelles are one of the most fabulous mushrooms and only available in the wild, not farmed commercially. The name comes from the Greek word kantharos, a kind of drinking container or cup. In the US and Canada they are the size of a fist but here they are about the size of a thumb. They grow in coniferous forests in mossy areas and are common but localised in the UK.

Filo (phyllo) is unleavened pastry that’s often used in Greek, Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisines. It is believed to originate from Medieval Turkey in the 11th century. The word filo comes from the Greek word for leaf however Yufka is the Turkish name and means thin. #GlobalApron

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

Saved

Ingredients

55 minutes

4 servings

1large cauliflower
1 tbspmelted butter
100 gchanterelle mushrooms, cleaned
4spring onions, chopped
1/4 tspchilli flakes
few grinds freshly ground sea salt
few grinds freshly ground black pepper
4 sheetsfilo pastry
Sauce:
25 gbutter
2 tbspflour
300 ghot milk
100 gmature cheddar cheese, grated
1 tspEnglish mustard
or made-up cheese sauce from granules

Saved

Steps

55 minutes

1

Cauli: Trim the cauliflower, keeping the younger, tender leaves and separate the florets. Place the florets and leaves into a pan of boiling salted water. Cook for 10 minutes. Drain in a colander reserving the water. Leave the cauliflower to steam dry.
2

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C fan. Line 4 small 25cl tins/pots or a springform tin with baking parchment.
3

Cheese sauce: Melt 25g butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 3 – 5 minutes stirring constantly to cook out the flour. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually add the hot milk, whisking until smooth. Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil. Add the cheese, mustard and season with salt and pepper. If you are pushed for time use cheese granules made up according to instructions with the cauli water.
4

Place the mushrooms in a frying pan with a little oil or butter and fry until take on some colour, add the chilli flakes, cauli leaves, spring onions and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Place the mushroom mixture on top of the cauliflower florets and pour over the cheese sauce. Note: can be baked at this stage if preferred for 30 minutes until brown on top.
5

Pastry: If using small pots, cut the pastry into squares. Brush the pastry sheets one at a time with the butter and line the pots draping the pastry over the edge butter side up until the bottom and sides are fully covered.
6

Place the cauli cheese filling into each of the lined pots and wrap over the edges of the pastry into the middle and seal with a little more melted butter. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the pots and place back in the oven for a further 15 minutes to brown the edges. Serve with a green salad.