IF you're looking for quick and easy dishes to heat you up on a cold, frosty evening, then look no further, as this week's hearty recipes are both comforting and delicious.
The first recipe, three cheese cauliflower with spring onions, is a simple dish, packed with so much flavour - it will leave your whole family coming back for seconds.
The second of this week's recipes is a loin of pork with caramelised onions and cabbage, which is a great alternative to a Sunday roast. Pork is a very underrated cut of meat that is a lot cheaper than beef and chicken and when cooked correctly can be both tender and flavoursome.
If you want to up-skill in the kitchen or enjoy cooking with friends, why not visit our Cookery School. We cater for all levels, no matter what your cooking abilities, and encourage the class to learn new skills to make delicious dishes at home.
Check out our cooking classes on our website at waterman.house
THREE CHEESE CAULIFLOWER WITH SPRING ONIONS
(Serves 4)
1 large cauliflower, chopped into florets
70g unsalted butter
70g flour
600ml milk
100g Gruyère cheese, grated
200g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1tbsp Dijon mustard
4 spring onions, chopped
200g Taleggio cheese cut into 5mm thick slices
METHOD
Start by preheating the oven to 200C.
Place a saucepan of lightly salted water on the hob and bring to the boil. Add in the cut cauliflower and boil for two to three minutes before removing from the saucepan and straining into a colander.
Place the butter in a separate pan on a low heat and add in the flour, a little at a time, cooking for two minutes. Next, add more butter and more flour and mix. You are making a roux here, so slowly add in the milk and mix as you go, ensuring there are no lumps.
Continue to cook the mixture over a low heat for six minutes until it becomes a little thicker and cooked out; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add in the grated Gruyère and cheddar cheese and cook until the cheese has melted through.
Next, add the mustard and keep on the heat until it has cooked through. Taste the mixture and add more seasoning if necessary, before removing from the heat.
Place the cauliflower in an oven-proof roasting dish, cover with spring onions and pour over the cheese sauce.
Finally, place the Taleggio slices on top of the cauliflower and cheese sauce and transfer to the oven, baking for 25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Remove and serve immediately.
LOIN OF PORK WITH CARAMELISED ONIONS AND CABBAGE
(Serves 4)
1 deboned pork loin, 1.5kg
1/2 lemon
1 bunch thyme
Cabbage:
1 spring cabbage
1 white onion
100g butter
Rapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
500ml chicken stock
METHOD
FOR THE PORK:
Start by heating the oven to 180C.
Place the pork on a roasting tray and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the skin and place in the oven for 75 minutes.
Next, remove the pork from the oven and sprinkle with the leaves from half the bunch of thyme while hot. Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
FOR THE CABBAGE:
Start by dicing the onion. Place them in a hot pan with half the butter and gently cook, though do not brown.
Next, add in the rest of the thyme (tied in a bunch) and cook until soft.
To prepare the cabbage, remove the outer leaves, wash and cut into 1/8.
In another pot add a splash of rapeseed oil and add the cabbage. Cook on a gentle heat until coloured.
Turn over the cabbage and add in the onions, stock, garlic and bay leaves.
Simmer until the cabbage is cooked before stirring in the remaining butter.
When ready to serve, slice two pork chops per person and serve with the cooked cabbage. Pour over some onions and stock to finish.
