This recipe is a variation of another recipe that I did from chef Pollyanna Coupland. Her recipe was called Roast CauliflowerRecipe with Smoked Cheese Sauce. She had this brilliant way of seasoning the cauliflower with lemon, oil, little dijon, and a little thyme. This goes magically well with the smoked cheese sauce and some sort of pickled vegetable.

This time I didn’t have leeks so I thought my pickled onions would work here. I also make my own cheese sauces because I put a lot of cheese in them and my sauces never break or taste floury. My trick is to always make cheese sauces with corn starch. My other trick is to add as little fat as reasonably possible because I want most of the fat in my sauce to come from cheese. I also use fat free milk. This recipe can take two days to prepare because I like to make anything pickled at least one day before. Serving size is difficult to judge because I don’t know if you want a small side order or a large serving. I’m going to guesstimate this up to 6 servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 red onion – sliced thin (preferably on a mandolin)

1 cup white vinegar

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

2 sprigs thyme

1 cauliflower – break down into florets

1 1/2 lbs carrots – you can cut them however you like it really doesn’t matter but the cook time will differ.

4 pinches of dried thyme

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 large juicy lemon – you need the juice and zest

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sea salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil – About the amount of oil I sprayed on the nuts

1/4 cup pepitas

1/4 cup sliced almonds

2 cups fat free milk

2 Tablespoons sweet butter

1/4 cup corn starch

9 oz mature cheddar cheese – shredded

4 1/2 oz munster cheese – shredded

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

hot sauce to taste – (I used Frank’s Red Hot Sauce didn’t measure but it might have been 2 Tablespoons)

liquid smoke to taste – (didn’t use much somewhere between 1/4 teaspoon – 1/2 a teaspoon so do a 1/4 first and then decide if you need more)

1/4 cup chives or scallions – chopped for finishing

Directions

Make the pickled onions. Bring to boil the vinegar, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and thyme sprigs. Reduce to simmer for ten minutes. Take off heat. Pour the hot liquid over the red onions. Leave out till it is room temperature and then refrigerate.

Preheat you oven to 375 F degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine the dried thyme, dijon mustard, lemon juice and lemon zest, and oil and mix well. Reserve around 1/2 the liquid. Mix the carrots in around 1/2 of the liquid and place them on a sheet tray. Cover the tray of carrots and put them on the lower rack. Now mix the cauliflower florets in the same large bowl adding the reserved liquid. Mix them around and place them in a single layer on a sheet tray (do not cover this one) . Timing will differ mostly due to cut on vegetable. Uncover the carrots at 30 minutes if you want to brown them a little. Leave the carrots in the oven till they are cooked all the way threw by testing with a fork. My cauliflower took 35 minutes. My carrots took a little longer. I lightly salted mine with my home made smoked pecan sea salt and a little fresh ground black pepper.

When your carrots come out you can toast the nuts. Put the almonds and pepitas on a sheet tray and spray them with oil. I put mine on the lower rack and mine took around ten minutes to get a nice light brown color.

Make the cheese sauce. Put a pot on medium high heat and melt the butter. Mix together with a whisk the milk, and corn starch. Add that to the butter. Cook until thickened and make sure that this bubbles so you know that it is cooked. Mix in the dijon, nutmeg, white pepper, smoked paprika and turn down the heat to medium low. Stir in the cheese. Keep stirring so the sauce stays smooth. Add hot sauce and liquid smoke to taste.

Arrange and serve.

Cauliflower, carrots, go on the plate. Top with cheese sauce, pickled onions, toasted nuts and some chives or scallions.

Enjoy!!!!

A Special THANKS to chef Pollyanna Copeland for her Amazing recipe so I could do what I got here!