Creamy Cauliflower Cheese Bake Topped With Filo Pastry

A classic cauliflower cheese, reimagined with a golden, crackling filo pastry top. The cheese sauce is smooth and savoury, holding the cauliflower in a warm, creamy embrace. Finished with layers of crisp filo, this bake is simple to assemble, comforting to eat, and just a little bit special.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Course Dinner, Main

Cuisine British Home Cooking

Servings

Calories 367

Ingredients

200 g brown onions
15 g fresh garlic
200 g firm tofu
1 tsp olive oil
500 g cauliflower | cut into florets, half for steaming for the sauce, half to add as an ingredient in the sauce
500 ml soya milk | unsweetened
60 ml lemon juice | ideally fresh, from 3 lemons
50 g cashew nuts
250 ml boiling water | to soak the cashews
10 g stock cube | use gluten-free stock cube if required
200 ml boiling water
3 tbsp olive oil
2 pinches salt | good proper pinches
½ tsp soft light brown sugar
1 tsp white miso paste
2 tsp Dijon mustard | or 'french' mustard
1 tsp English mustard | the stronger more yellow mustard
2 tbsp nutritious yeast
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tbsp cornflour | + 2/3 tbsp of water
1 tbsp fresh dill | chopped
1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley | chopped
7 sheets filo pastry
1 tsp salt | have a bowl to hand to season the filo
1 tsp ground black pepper | have a bowl to hand to season the filo
50 g butter | unsalted; melted; I melt in a Pryex dish in the oven as it heats up

Instructions

Go through all the ingredients in the list: get them out, weigh, peel, chop, put into bowls and then put everything you're not using away.
Peel and chop the onions into slender petals (10mm at the widest point). Peel the garlic.
200 g brown onions, 15 g fresh garlic
Prepare the tofu: cut into little finger-sized pieces and toss in a little oil in a pan. You don't need to add salt. Just get it cooked and then put to one side to add later.
200 g firm tofu, 1 tsp olive oil
Prepare the 'sauce cauliflower': cut half of cauliflower into small florets (250g) and steam until the florets are really soft. Prod with a sharp knife. The knife should glide in like a hot knife through butter. Yes, that soft! Put the super soft florets into a bowl and to one side for later.
500 g cauliflower
Prepare the 'pie cauliflower': Once the super soft florets are done, steam the ones that will be used in the pie until al dente. 3-4 minutes. You want to keep a chunky, firm texture. Vegan/plant-based food must have texture; something to chew on is good! Put the al dente cauliflower to one side for later.
Prepare the milk: squeeze fresh lemon juice in a lemon squeezer and add it to the soya milk. Stir it around. The soya milk will, correctly, curdle.
60 ml lemon juice, 500 ml soya milk
Prepare the cashews: measure the cashew pieces into a jug and pour over the boiling water. The cashews need to soak for 15 minutes max. After that, drain into a sieve.
50 g cashew nuts, 250 ml boiling water
Prepare the stock: break the stock cube into a jug and weigh in 200ml of boiling water; it's fine to weigh water in as grammes; ml = g where water is concerned; stir the stock around.
10 g stock cube, 200 ml boiling water
Don't forget to keep things tidy. I have a dishwasher loading session at this point, and a wipe down. So it's all neat and tidy again before carrying on.
Heat the oil in the pan on low, as low a heat as possible (smallest ring/lowest setting). Whilst the oil is heating, Tip the pan to cover the base of the pan with oil, then add the onion petals and stir into the oil, along with the salt. Proceed to cook the onions very slowly until they are soft and translucent and slightly caramelised.
3 tbsp olive oil, 2 pinches salt
Grate the garlic cloves into the cooking onions. The little pieces that end up on the grater can just get put into the pan no worries. Cook the onion and garlic together. Towards the end of cooking, add the sugar and stir until it's melted and caramelised. Turn the heat off.
½ tsp soft light brown sugar
Put the drained cashews into the food processor with the steamed cauliflower, and add a very small amount of the lemon/soya milk mix. Enough to loosen and help the blending process. Blend the cashews and cauliflower together until completely smooth (5-8 mins). Keep scraping the sides and the lid of the processor to get the larger pieces back down! You want this completely saucy smooth. Let the blender do the work. During this process, add the miso, Dijon mustard, English Mustard and Nutritious Yeast
1 tsp white miso paste, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp nutritious yeast, 1 tsp English mustard
Preheat your oven to 190℃ fan and put a low heat under the onion/garlic pan. Prepare the cornflour: mix the cornflour with 2 or 3 tbsp until smooth.
½ tbsp cornflour
Tip the contents of the food processor into the pan along with rest of the soya/lemon milk mix. Add the salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly. Make the cornflour into a slurry with the smallest amount of water you can manage and stir into the sauce. Stir around and whilst you prepare the herbs, let it simmer. to cook the cornflour. The sauce thickens.
1 tsp salt, ½ tsp ground black pepper
Chop the fresh herbs and stir into the sauce and then add the tofu and mix, then the cauliflower and mix.
1 tbsp fresh dill, 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley
Melt the butter (20 seconds in a microwave, or in the 'heating up oven') and unroll out the filo pastry. Have a clean cold plate nearby. Brush the top sheet of filo with melted butter, add a tiny pinch of salt and a tiny pinch of pepper, scrunch up loosely to get some height into it, and place on the plate. Repeat with another 6 sheets. I use my fingers for this! It's easier and quicker for me. The brushes are too small for my patience levels!
7 sheets filo pastry, 1 tsp salt, 50 g butter, 1 tsp ground black pepper
Ensure the oven is at the correct temperature and when it is, proceed to the next step.
Add the scrunched filo to the top of the pan, covering the top of the pan with a little bit of the sauce edge showing.
Place into the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until the filo is nicely browned. Remember to open the oven slowly to keep the heat constant. If you know your oven has hot spots, you might need to turn the dish a couple of times. during cooking to ensure even browning of the top.
Serve with broccoli, green beans, spinach... You could add sourdough on the side to mop up the sauce

Nutrition

Calories: 367kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 13gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0.1mgSodium: 1283mgPotassium: 575mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 331IUVitamin C: 53mgCalcium: 200mgIron: 3mg

Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.