051 / 75 · Vegetables, fish and hearty plates
Cauliflower, Bean and Cheese Spoon Bake
2 spoonable cauliflower-and-bean meals, each with half the complete dish and 60 g (2.1 oz) bread · Active 18 min · Cook 14 min · Total 40 min
Print recipe · PDFMashed white beans give this soft cauliflower dish a creamy body without making a separate flour sauce. The cauliflower cooks first, then half the beans are mashed into milk and mustard while the rest stay whole. Cheddar melts across the top at the end. Spoon it from the shallow dish with the measured bread; no oven-browned crust is promised.
Tender florets before sauce
Cut the cauliflower into small florets, with any peeled stalk diced more finely. Steam until a fork enters the thickest pieces easily. Keep the small measured steaming liquid in the dish. A thick sauce would make it harder to tell whether large raw florets had cooked, so the vegetables finish their own stage first.
Mash only half the beans
Measure the drained canned beans and divide them into two equal piles. A fork is enough to mash one half with milk and mustard; the sauce can remain slightly coarse. Fold in the other half whole. This gives both body and texture without needing a blender, raw flour or an extra saucepan.
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) fresh cauliflower, florets cut to 2 cm (¾ in), peeled stalk to 5 mm (3/16 in) dice
- 45 ml (3 US tbsp) water
- 240 g (8.5 oz) ready-to-eat canned white beans, drained and rinsed, divided into 120 g (4.2 oz) for mashing and 120 g left whole
- 150 ml (about ½ US cup plus 2 US tbsp) milk
- 10 g (0.35 oz) Dijon mustard
- 60 g (2.1 oz) cheddar, grated
- 0.5 g sweet paprika, about ¼ US tsp
- 0.5 g fine salt, a small pinch
- 0.2 g ground black pepper, a small pinch
- 120 g (4.2 oz) soft wholemeal bread, 60 g (2.1 oz) per person
Set out
1000 W microwave with turntable, Shallow microwave-safe dish, about 22 cm (8⅔ in) inside diameter and at least 2 L (2.1 US qt) capacity, Microwave-safe vented cover, Knife and board, Mixing bowl, Fork and spoon, Kitchen scale and measuring jug, Food thermometer, Oven mitts, Two serving plates
Allergens
Milk, Mustard, Wheat. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Put cauliflower and the 45 ml water into the shallow dish. Cover with the vented cover. Microwave at 1000 W full power for 4 minutes, stir, then cook 2–3 minutes more until the thickest stalk and florets are fork-tender. Retain all the steaming liquid.
- Mash 120 g of the canned beans in the mixing bowl with the fork. Gradually stir in all the milk, mustard, salt and pepper, leaving a slightly coarse sauce. Fold it through the tender cauliflower with the other 120 g whole beans.
- Cover and microwave at full power for 3 minutes. Stir carefully from the bottom, then heat 1–2 minutes more until 165°F/74°C in the center and several other positions. Sprinkle all the cheddar over the surface and dust it with all the paprika. Cover and heat at 50% power for 1–2 minutes until the cheese has softened; check that the center remains fully hot, adding short bursts if needed.
- Stand covered for 2 minutes. Spoon half the entire cauliflower, beans, sauce and cheese onto each plate. Serve 60 g bread per person. The top is soft melted cheese rather than a baked crust.
No blender needed
A fork-mashed half of the beans provides a slightly coarse creamy coating. Do not expect a perfectly smooth white sauce from a method that does not blend it.
A spoonable serving
Each person receives half the whole dish, including all the cheese, plus 60 g bread. There is no instruction to cut a firm casserole square or turn the mixture out.
Ingredient labels
Check bread and mustard labels for additional ingredients, including sesame or soy.
A useful detail
The 40-minute planning total allows chopping, up to 7 minutes cauliflower heating, 5 minutes sauce heating and 2 minutes cheese warming, the covered stand and serving. The milk sauce thickens from mashed cooked beans, not a hidden raw-flour stage. One oven heats the single dish sequentially; additional tenderizing or temperature-controlled bursts extend the estimate.
Another way
- Use 300 g (10.6 oz) fresh broccoli instead of cauliflower, keeping the peeled stalk in small dice and cooking to tenderness before adding sauce.
- Replace cheddar with 60 g (2.1 oz) crumbled feta. It softens into the surface rather than stretching; the dish still contains milk.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below and use within 3 days. Keep bread separate. Reheat once, covered and stirred, until 165°F/74°C throughout; stand covered for 2 minutes. The bean sauce may become thicker during storage.