Cauliflower Cheese

One of the challenges facing molecular gastronomy is knowing where to draw the line between innovation and tradition.

Some dishes have become classic for good reason – they taste really good just the way they are. As such, alterations can be seen as pointless frippery. Experimentation for the sake of change.

Why ‘deconstruct’ a guacamole when regular guacamole is pretty close to perfection?

For culinary innovation to be successful, the resultant dish must maintain the integrity of the inspiration, or else the point has been missed and all that remains on the plate, and on the palate, is the bitter taste of disappointment and a hunger for the original.

Even Ferran Adria et al accept that not all dishes are a success. Granted, he scores more hits than misses but I’m sure his team have an awful lot of fun along the way.

And much of what this is about is having fun.

Eating (and cooking) is one of only two pan-sensory activities in which we, as humans, engage. Why shouldn’t it delight, amuse, surprise, tease or even arouse rather than just fuel?

Balancing these twin objectives – integrity and amusement against innovation and satisfaction – is a real challenge. But one that is enormously satisfying when it works. This was my first effort

Cauliflower Cheese

Cauliflower cheese is one of those big classics. Done right it is like being wrapped in a warm duvet and watching a Frank Capra film. Bite-sized florets of cauliflower, still carrying some bite, covered in a cheesey white sauce and topped with even more melty cheese, just turning that slightly crispy/chewy shade of brown. Give me the dish and a fork. No plates or napkins necessary.

Stripped down it has three main elements – the sauce, the cheese and the cauliflower. It also has three textures – soft, chewy and slightly crunchy. Finally, there are three flavours – saltiness from the cheese, caulifloweryness from the cauliflower and a slight bitterness from the topping.

The challenge was to keep all these fundamentals in place without compromising the flavour or satisfying nature of the inspiration.

After much head scratching, musing and mulling, this is what I came up with:



Mozzarella spheres with deep-fried cauliflower and bitter chocolate and a cauliflower and Parmesan puree with Parmesan crisps.

I think it ticks all the boxes. And you’re going to want the recipe aren’t you? I shall make it so…

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Cheese on Toast

Last Friday’s ‘Nibble’ contained a brief but apparently un-ignorable reference to cheese on toast.

As such, for the past 48 hours there has been a craving working away at my psyche and only this morning did I realise what it was.

Cheese on toast is another dish of implicit simplicity that manages to delight, satisfy and comfort in equal measure. The crunch of toasted white bread is the perfect foil to the soft, gooey warmth of melted cheddar cheese.

This is fast food as I see it – food that needs little thought or effort but can make you blissfully happy within a matter of minutes. It is the culinary equivalent of a big bear hug from a close friend.


(click photo to enjoy life size)

Do you really need a recipe for this? Surely not. Toast bread. Spread thinly with butter. Add an obscenely thick layer of cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper and a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce. Grill until the cheese is bubbling and just starting to blister into delicious brown patches.

Eat. Smile. Repeat until full.

Goes very well with a mug of tea and many episodes of Family Guy.

Part two of the pork scratching recipe is due in the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

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Coming to a screen near you...

Although not normally known for brevity, just a little one for you today. Call it a nibblet (is that I sigh of relief I heard from somewhere in the back there?).

But there is plenty to come over the next few days, so fear not.

Yesterday was day one of ‘Mission Top Secret’ which I can’t talk about but might (or might not…) involve a cookbook that I might (or might not…) be writing with two rather fantastic chefs. More to follow.

I’m off to London in about an hour to sample some genuine British buffalo mozzarella made by former F1 world champion Jody Sheckter who has since swapped his Ferrari for a tractor and turned to organic and bio-diverse farming. Very exciting indeed. I shall report back.

In the mean time how about some homework? A while back I was given this book, My Last Supper by Melanie Dunea in which she photographs and interviews fifty of the world’s top chefs about what they would choose for their, you guessed it, last supper.

In preparation for a similarly themed post, what would you chose for your last meal on earth? Who would cook it for you? And who would you like to accompany you whilst you munch through the final morsels? I'd love to know what you'd pick so get in touch to help make this a fun and truly global feature.

Need some inspiration? You can watch Charlie Rose interview Melanie along with Eric Ripert, Wylie Dufresne, Tom Aikens and Marcus Samuelsson about their last suppers here, or just here:



Also, I know there was no Friday Nibble last week, I got a little sidetracked. This week’s will more than make up for it and will even include a killer recipe for cassoulet (that should offer some clue as to the featured item).

A bientot!