Cauliflower sformato: when your husband hates cauliflower and you don't!

My husband Enzo hates cauliflowers.
To tell the truth he hates eating whatever is green colored, that means most of the vegetables, which is a problem for me since I really love them!

These are real problems for a couple! The only way to solve this kitchen issue is to find the right way to cook them and let him think he's eating something else.

What to do with cauliflowers? What Enzo really hates is their consistency. So, the easiest solution was to make a change to my mom's sformato di cavolfiore (cauliflower flan).

Preparing the flan (serves 2/3 persons)

1 big cauliflower

1 egg

5 spoons of Parmisan OR Grana Padano cheese

150 grams of fusing cheese (at your choice)

4/5 slices of ham

2 spoons of salt

extra virgin olive oil

2 spoons of breadcrumb

1. Wash carefully your cauliflower and cut it into several pieces, be sure to cut not only the flower but also a bit of stalk.

2. Use a deep pan, fill with water (water must cover every piece of cauliflower) and put the salt(taste the water now and then and adjust with more salt if neede). When it begins to boil, dip the cauliflower and let it cook until you easily manage to penetrate the stalk with a fork. Strain the cauliflower until it completely loses the water.

3. Put the cauliflower into a bowl and mash it with a fork. Add the egg and the parmisan and mix all ingredients. If the cauliflower has been correctly strained, you will get a thick consistency.

4. Use a small/medium pie-dish (the size actually depends on how big the cauliflower is) and with a serviette soaked in olive oil moist the the whole internal surface of the pie-dish. Then, do the same with the breadcrumb so to cover all sides.

5. Ideally divide the cauliflower mixture into two parts. Create a first layer of mashed cauliflower (about 2 cm), a second layer with the slices of ham, a third one with the cheese and a fourth one with the rest of the cauliflower.

6. With a fork creates your own decoration. Add some parmesan cheese on the top and bake it into the oven at 180°C for about 25 minutes.

Let it rest for a couple of minutes, don't tell your husband what dish it is and serve it preatty warm.

"Not bad, taste very good, I think I can eat it once again", Enzo said.

Yes, what a success!

Picture: © Doriana Briguglio