Cauliflower Casserole

Sometimes all you need is just a good casserole. Especially when the weather outside isn’t exactly something to get excited about. That’s why I’ve rolled up my sleeves again to provide you with a healthy dose of comfort food. Because let’s be honest… nothing beats curling up on the couch under a blanket with your plate on your lap, enjoying a heartwarming meal while watching your favorite cooking show. Or is that just me? In any case, this casserole is perfect for that. 🙂 Plus, it’s a great dish to make a double batch of—to enjoy over the next few days or to freeze for when you’re too busy to cook from scratch.  Like so many dishes, this one tastes even better the next day because the flavors have had more time to meld. The only thing you’ll need to do that day is just reheat your casserole. Isn’t that wonderful?

And there’s another benefit: it’s a convenient, fun, and delicious way to eat lots of vegetables. Cauliflower and tomatoes form the basis of this dish. We top it all off with mozzarella and rosemary—for color, for flavor, and because almost everything in life gets better when you serve it with mozzarella and rosemary. Or at least when it comes to casseroles. 😉

Enjoy your meal!

Ingredients: ( serves 2)

• 1 head of cauliflower
• olive oil
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 500 g chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried Provençal herbs
• salt and pepper
• 70 g (red) beans
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 125 g mozzarella

Preparation: (45 minutes of work)

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut the cauliflower into small florets. As a general guideline, 1 square centimeter is ideal.
3. Place the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet, drizzle a little olive oil over them, and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, chop the onion and add it to a pan with a little olive oil.
5. Wait until the onion becomes translucent.
6. Chop the garlic into small pieces and add it to the pan.
7. Add the diced tomatoes.
8. Add the dried rosemary, dried basil, dried thyme, dried oregano, dried Provençal herbs, salt, and pepper.
9. Rinse the beans and add them.
10. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into strips and add them to the mixture.
11. Add the nutritional yeast.
12. Mix everything together and let it simmer over low heat.
13. Remove the cauliflower from the oven and spread the tomato sauce over it.
14. Top it off with the mozzarella.

Enjoy your meal!

Tips:

I used red beans here, but you can use any beans you have on hand.

If you can't find the nutritional yeast, you can leave it out. It'll still taste great, but if you do find it, it makes the whole dish just a little bit better.

In the photo, I finished off this dish with two sprigs of fresh rosemary. As they say, it has to look good, too. 🙂