Cauliflower Gratin

I originally made this as a side dish and think that it would make a nice vegetarian dinner. That theory will never be put to the test, however, as I'm far too find of eating dead things.


Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower, approx 1kg, in florets
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 6 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 slices dry bread
• 2 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp salt
• 50g grated parmesan

In a saucepan, fry off the onions in the oil until they’ve softened a little, then add the garlic, followed after a couple of minutes by the red pepper, celery, tomatoes and salt. Turn the heat to low and let this mixture cook away for 20 minutes or so.

In the meantime, drop the florets of cauliflower in salted, boiling water and par-boil them for five minutes or so. Drain them and then place them in a lightly oiled ceramic oven-proof dish.

Tear up the bread and whizz it to make breadcrumbs, adding in the herbs and parmesan. Pour the tomato mixture over the cauliflower, topping it with the breadcrumb mixture. Place this in a GM6/200C/400F oven for 30 minutes.