Cauliflower Manchego Gratin with Quince Glaze

I was recently reminiscing about a Spanish tapas and wine class that my two best friends and I took a couple of years ago at The New School here in NYC. The class was exceptionally high on the fun scale, high on flavor and scrumptiousness and low on instructional value. Nevertheless, it was a great evening and the highlight was when the hard-working dishwasher accidentally threw away the mussel broth. Before the mussels were served and eaten. The instructor gasped, swore like a sailor spluttered, nearly FLIPPED his lid. We all took turns surreptitiously consoling the dishwasher throughout the rest of the evening, ensuring him it truly wasn’t the end of the world. In the class, one of the new discoveries was the fantastic combination of manchego cheese and quince paste (a.k.a. membrillo.) The two are a marriage of epic Spanish proportion (albeit apolitical and non-violent) with a well-balanced sweet-salty-symbiosis. We also had marcona almonds roasted in olive oil and sea salt, which were a wonderfully intense chaser to the manchego and quince morsel. On my way home the other day, I was reliving this special memory and began craving the tastes from that evening. I contemplated what dishes I could create to scratch this particular culinary itch and my “Cauliflower Manchego Gratin with Quince Glaze and Almonds” was born. I didn’t have marcona almonds on hand, so just toasted raw almonds for a decent substitute.

Ingredients:
Serves 6 - 8

1/4 cup raw almonds, in skin, toasted and chopped
1 2lb. head of fresh cauliflower, cleaned and cut into small florets
4 T. unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
kosher salt to taste
black pepper to taste
2 T. flour
1/2 c. hazelnut or almond liquid or cream as good substitute if you can’t find these
1 c. whole milk
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 cup grated manchego plus 3 T. more
2 T. quince paste
4 T. sweet white wine
3 T. water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Heat a very small skillet on the stovetop to medium-high and add the raw almonds. Toast them, tossing and flipping frequently, until the skins begin to turn a deep brown and you smell the almond aroma, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a large skillet, bring 1/2 inch of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower, cover and cook over high heat until tender yet firm about 3-4 minutes. Drain the cauliflower in a colander.

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the flour and whisk over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Add the milk and the hazelnut liquid and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in 3/4 cup of the Manchego until melted and smooth. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and whisk again.  Try to keep the sauce warm, without cooking it further.  Also, chop the cooled almonds into relatively fine pieces.

Return the large skillet to stovetop on medium-high heat and let any residual water evaporate from the heat.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet and melt. Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook until just golden, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the cauliflower to a baking dish and pour the Manchego sauce on top.  Stir in the dish to evenly coat the cauliflower with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the top with the chopped toasted almonds.   Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling and browned on top.

While the cauliflower is baking about 5 minutes before it's ready, prepare the quince glaze.  Add the quince paste, white wine and water to a small saucepan.  Heat very slowly on low heat, whisking the entire time. When glaze is smooth and even, reduce heat as low as possible and whisk occasionally to keep it warm and silky.  Remove the cauliflower au gratin from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes.  Spoon the quince paste over the top of the dish and serve.

If you had a Rioja on hand, it would be a great wine to drink with this dish.

Comments

[Joyce]

Lovely new way to enjoy cauliflower. Thanks for the idea. One of my faves, usually just quickly oven roasted with spray of evoo and a dusting of Italian bread crumbs with a pinch or two of aleppo.
This cheese and quince treatment will seem decadent!

[rowena]

Hi Stephanie,

I just saw your reply about me associating oregano with mexican cooking! Funny thing is this...oregano is most used in southern Italy, whereas northern not so much. At least in the recipes that I cook (which are mostly from the north), oregano hardly ever shows up! Rosemary yes, sage DEFINITELY! I quizzed my husband on this and he pretty much said the same thing. It just goes better with tomato-based dishes as opposed to the butter-rich cuisine of the north.

[rowena]

Forgot to comment on this post! Yow, quince paste?! I broke out in a laugh when I moused over the link...igourmet.com!?! When I was still on the islands that was THEE site from which I bought 150 bucks worth of european cheese! (mostly french and italian of course).

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

I'm not a huge cauliflower fan but since in this recipe it's just a vehicle for the manchego, quince and almonds I can't wait to try it!

[Bea at La Tartine Gourmande]

What an interesting combination of ingredients. I am a big fan of Manchego cheese, but had not heard about quince paste before. Thanks for this great idea! I am curious now to try!

[Yvo]

Mmm, this looks/sounds so delicious... the combination of ingredients just sounds right. I'll have to attempt this recipe sometime in the coming weeks (not this one as I've been bad and ordered from FreshDirect three times already. Kept forgetting things or they'd leave them out of my order. Yummy. I don't think I've tried quince straight... will have to try some :)

[Stephanie Beack]

Joyce - it is decadent, but not overwhelmingly so. Best to serve it with something bright and light.

Rowena, aha. Therein lies the difference re: oregano! I forgot you are in the North. My hot southern/Sicilian blood compels me to reach for oregano now and again. Why am I not surprised you and I both have helped keep iGourmet in business??

Lisa, right on, it is the vehicle. Let me know what you think of it after you've tried it out.

Bea, welcome to Scrumptious Street! What a pleasure to have you visit. Let me know what you think of the quince and manchego.. it's also a hit at my cocktail parties. Skewer small pieces of manchego and quince and they'll nibble all night. The two work so very well together.

[Stephanie Beack]

Yvo, careful -- you may just become addicted! Isn't FreshDirect great? Although, my last two orders have been slightly skewed too so maybe they're a little overloaded at the moment. Let me know when you get to this, I think you'll like it.