One thing for sure is that this baked cauliflower won’t win any awards for good looks. I mean, just look at it. Without the herbage and garlic flowers it’s a celebration of all things golden brown.

Not to worry, as it’s all in how it tastes with this veggie dish that could easily be a meal for two on its own. Maybe a salad on the side would help it in the looks department.

Distractions, you see?

This is a take on a Croatian baked cauliflower dish I made several years ago. See it here if you like. Sour cream is no stranger in many Eastern European countries, as it finds its way in many sweet and savoury dishes. Quite often I dissolve a bit of icing sugar or vanilla sugar through it and use it in place of regular cream, for a desert.

There isn’t too much sour cream in this dish, but just enough to give it a very slight tang. And if sour cream isn’t your thing, go with yoghurt or even mascarpone.

Unlike last time where I used cheddar cheese, for this one I’ve decided to use brie for its heady aroma and punchy flavour. I absolutely love the stuff and can very easily bite into a wheel of it like an apple.

Yep, that’s just me. A little sloppy in the grace department.

Thin batons of smoky speck come along for the ride, as well, contributing their salty meatiness to the soft and velvety cauliflower. To help finish it off, a liberal toss of coarse dark rye breadcrumbs crunch up perfectly as that brie slowly melts over and around the florets of cauli.

A final dusting of finely grated parmesan is the finishing touch – maybe a few snips of radish sprouts, like I did. Do what you like, though, as this one’s pretty versatile.

Toasted pine nuts and chilli wouldn’t go astray here, either.

Print Recipe

Baked cauliflower with brie, speck & sour cream

Take your baked cauliflower to different levels by baking it with sour cream, brie and smoky speck. This one's a real winner.

Course

Vegetables

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 1 kg cauliflower cut into 4 cm florets
• 80 g butter (⅓ cup) melted
• 130 g sour cream
• 80 ml milk (⅓ cup)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper freshly milled
• 80 g speck cut into sticks
• 80 g brie sliced 5 mm thick
• 60 g dark rye bread crumbs (1 cup)
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
• ¼ cup herb sprouts

Course Vegetables Servings people Ingredients 1 kg cauliflower cut into 4 cm florets 80 g butter (⅓ cup) melted 130 g sour cream 80 ml milk (⅓ cup) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper freshly milled 80 g speck cut into sticks 80 g brie sliced 5 mm thick 60 g dark rye bread crumbs (1 cup) ¼ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated ¼ cup herb sprouts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Lightly oil one large baking dish or two smaller ones. They basically need to be big enough to fit the cauliflower florets in one snug layer.
3. Steam the cauliflower florets for 10 minutes. Alternatively, boil them in water for 8-10 minutes, draining really well once they're done.
4. Lay the cauliflower into your prepared baking dishes while they're still hot.
5. Whisk together the melted butter, sour cream and milk. Dribble this over the cauliflower.
6. Scatter salt and black pepper over the top, then do the same with the speck. Reserve about ¼ of the speck to put on at the end. Lay the slices of brie over the top, followed by the bread crumbs and then the reserved speck.
7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
8. To serve, scatter the baked cauliflower with the parmesan, herbs and serve while hot.

Recipe Notes

Try to avoid fine bread crumbs as you want them to have a bit of substance. I take sliced rye bread - or use whatever bread you like - then cut it into small cubes and quickly blitz it in a small food processor. You could even use panko crumbs here, if you like.

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