Recipe 13: Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

To continue the 'vegetables i enjoy but have never actually cooked' theme, I made a broccoli and cauliflower casserole. Yes, I had never actually cooked fresh cauliflower before. This recipe was based on a macaroni and cheese with cauliflower in it. I was sick last week and i wanted some comfort food to bring me through the meal. I cut down the amount of pasta and added broccoli to up the impact.

Materials

~ 1/2 package whole wheat shells (6 to 7 oz shells)
~ 1 head cauliflower
~ 2 broccoli crowns
~ 4 slices multigrain bread, torn
~ 1/2 cup parsley chopped
~ 3 tbl olive oil
~ salt and pepper to taste
~ 1 onion
~ 2 cups extra sharp cheddar grated
~ 1 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
~ 1/2 cup fat free milk
~ 1 tbl stone ground mustard


Methods

1. Preheat oven to 400 and cook the pasta. Coarsely chop the cauliflower and broccoli. Add them to the pasta for the last 3 minutes. Remove and drain veggies and pasta.




2. Meanwhile, tear break and pulse in food processor until coarse crumbs are formed. Add parsley, 2 tbl oil, and salt and pepper. [note -- i would only use 2 pieces of bread next time] Chop onion finely.




3. Add 1 tbl oil to the bottom of the pasta pot. Cook onions, salt, and pepper until the onions soften. Add cheese, sour cream, milk, mustard, and pasta. Mix. [note -- i added cheese, sour cream, milk, and mustard and mixed thoroughly before adding pasta and veggies. i recommend this method to get adequate mixing]

4. Place mixture in a baking dish and cover with bread crumbs [4 slices of bread made waaaay tooo many breadcrumbs]. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Makes about 6 servings





Results
It was pretty OK. This met the casserole comfort food standard, although more cheese or a lot of butter and full fat milk or cream would have made it much more yummy. As i noted above, waaaay too much topping. It was still good, and servings were giant!