Meatballs and Cauliflower a Comforting Casserole Make

I often share images of dishes that I make, and since early March of this year, I have been posting them on Facebook under the title Lockdown Kitchen at The Brockhaus.

Almost as often, I am asked to share recipes of the dishes, something I don’t do as often as I’d like to. Well, I am going to rectify that, beginning with this piece.

For a week or so, I have been meaning to use a cauliflower I bought about 10 days ago. I like to roast the cruciferous vegetable, and I recently sautéed some florets and served them in a pasta dish. This time, however, I did something different.

With this head of cauliflower, I made a casserole, adapted from a recipe I found in the Los Angeles Times (link here). Ben Mims wrote it, and here’s how I made the dish (feel free to use separate baking gratins if you wish):

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower
salt, fresh black pepper
1 pound ground beef (or lamb, pork, or a mixture of the three)
1 medium white onion, chopped
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons EVOO
1.5 cups whole milk (or preferably, 2 cups heavy cream)
3 cups cheese
red chili flakes to taste (optional)

• Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim the head of cauliflower and separate it into bite-size florets (wash them before cooking, of course). Put one cup of water in a large skillet over medium heat, season with salt and pepper, and add florets. Cover and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes, uncover and stir. Cook for 4 minutes more.

• Place florets in large baking dish. In same skillet, sautée onion in olive oil until soft. Add onions to cauliflower in baking dish.

• Using your fingers, separate beef — 80 lean/20 fat — (I’m going to use lamb next time, and pork would work as well) into small pieces — think the size of a dime — and then spread Dijon mustard over the beef. Add some some salt and pepper, and if you want to replicate my recipe, squirt a tablespoon or two of Sriracha over the mixture. You might also throw in some diced peppers (Serrano, jalapeño … or). Mix well, but do not overheat your meat. (Here is where I added the chili flakes.)

• Make meatballs. I followed Mims’ recipe and rolled walnut-size meatballs. Arrange them on top of the cauliflower florets.

• I was out of cream, so I used whole milk in this step. Poured about 1.5 cups over the meatballs and cauliflower. I would have preferred cream, or at least half-and-half. However, the results were more than satisfactory using milk.

• I had Cheddar and mozzarella on hand, so that’s what I used. Mims calls for 3 cups, and I concur. But you can add more if you wish. Never less. I grated the Cheddar over the top of the mixture, and tore the mozzarella into small pieces and distributed them evenly in the baking dish.
• Put dish into the 450F oven, and bake for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add about 2 .5 cups of Panko breadcrumbs to the oil, and stir well. Cook until toasted. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove dish from oven, spread Panko over the top of the cauliflower and meatballs in an even layer, and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the top is browned and crisp.
• Remove your dinner from the oven and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.

I served this in bowls with a handful of baby arugula nestled on top. We drank a Pinot Noir (a 2017 from Alma Rosa) with it. The evening was a good one.