Comfy Cauliflower

It’s like frozen tundra where I live.  Seriously it’s been freezing cold and snow covered for a while now. When it gets cold like this I start to crave comfort food…specifically macaroni and cheese.   However, being a person with an intolerance to gluten, mac and cheese is pretty much out of the question.  So I thought I would try to come up with a veggie based version of the dish to satisfy my cravings.  I used cauliflower in place of pasta and a little butter and cream in place of the traditional roux and milk.  This dish turned out really well and definitely hit the spot.

1 head cauliflower broken into bite sized florets

½ cup veggie stock

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp heavy cream

2 tsp dried thyme

1 clove garlic chopped

2 tbsp shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using the veggie stock, steam the cauliflower until just fork tender.  Drain cauliflower and place in a 1.5 quart casserole.  In a small saucepan over medium heat melt butter.  Add garlic and thyme and sauté until fragrant.  Add the heavy cream to the sauce pan and swirl until it starts to bubble.  Remove from heat .  Pour the butter mixture over the steamed cauliflower and toss to coat evenly.  Top the cauliflower mixture with  sharp cheddar and bake at 350°F until the cheese is melted and browned to your liking (this should take 15-30 minutes depending on how brown you like it).