Tag: Main
Grain Salad with Feta Dressing
As fresh spring vegetables start to pop up, combine them with some cooked grains and a creamy feta dressing. Add some protein by topping the salad with our newest tinned fish line, Scout Canning Ontario Trout with Dill.
Grain Salad with Feta Dressing
Ingredients
Feta Dressing
- 2 cups mixed tender herbs – basil, cilantro, mint, dill, parsley, tarragon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 jalapeño – seeds removed to reduce spiciness
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 lemons
- ¾ cup buttermilk or greek yogurt
- 4 oz Feta
- salt
Grain Salad
- 1 cup dried grains – farro, freekeh, barely, bulgar, wild rice
- 1 lbs mixed crunchy spring vegetables – snap peas, cucumbers, radishes, fennel
- 3 scallions
- ⅔ cup pistachios
- 1 can Scout Canning Ontario Trout with Dill
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- In a blender, combine the herbs, garlic clove, jalapeño, olive oil, Feta, the zest of half of a lemon, the juice of 2 whole lemons, and the buttermilk. Blend until smooth and pale green. Season the dressing with salt and transfer to a medium bowl.
Make the salad:
- Cook the grains according to package directions. Place in a large mixing bowl to cool.
- Thinly slice the crunchy vegetables. Add to the bowl with cooled grains.
- Coarsely chop pistachios and thinly slice scallions. Add to the bowl.
- Pour half of the dressing over and stir well to combine, adding more as needed until thoroughly coated. Reserve the remaining dressing for another use. Season the salad with salt.
- Divide among plates. Open the can and flake trout on top of the salad.
Cheesy Capocollo Quiche
This extra cheesy, extra meaty quiche screams #brunchgoals.
Using a double cream cheese like Sweet Grass’s Green Hill will add a rich and melty texture to the quiche that oozes out when you slice into it.
Take the opportunity to use whatever veg, meats, and herbs are hanging in your fridge:
- Sliced piquillo peppers and blanched spinach, roasted broccoli, asparagus, peas, roasted sweet potatoes.
- Sliced ham, rotisserie chicken, smoked salmon, or spicy Capocollo from Smoking Goose sliced from the meat counter.
- Basil, dill, parsley, mint, thyme
Cutting the cheese into wedges creates these melty pockets of creamy cheese, but it does take the quiche a bit longer to set. Give the quiche the jiggle test a few times before removing it from the oven. The egg custard should be set and the middle should barely jiggle.
Cheesy Capocollo Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 package premade pie dough
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 Tbsp parsely, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 6 piquillo peppers, thinly sliced
- ½ cup blanched spinach
- 4 oz. Smoking Goose Capocollo, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. Green Hill, cut into 16 wedges
- Microgreens or extra chopped herbs for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a pie pan and allow dough to slump down into the pan. Cut away the excess dough that hangs over the pan and place in the freezer for 10–15 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and line with parchment paper. Place rice or beans on top of the paper, evenly covering the surface of the crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully pour out the hot rice or beans and use a fork to prick a few holes in the bottom of the crust. Put the crust back in the oven to bake until lightly golden, about another 10–15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a baking sheet.
- To make the egg custard, whisk together eggs, heavy whipping cream, whole milk, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper. Pour into a spouted measuring cup. Set aside.
- Start filling the crust by scattering half of the sliced piquillos and spinach on the bottom of the crust. Arrange the wedges of cheese on top, turning the wedges to face different directions. Nestle slices of Capocollo in between the cheese wedges and top with remaining piquillos and spinach.
- Gently pour the egg custard into the nooks and crannies of the filling.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the egg custard is set, the cheese is melted, and the edges of the Capocollo start to crisp up, about 40-50 minutes.
- Cool for 30 minutes. Sprinkle on microgreens or chopped herbs. Serve warm or at room temp.
Baked Feta, Tomato & ‘Nduja Pasta
While most of us are not TikTok users, we have noticed the food trends that pop up every now and then. The internet has been cooking this Baked Feta Pasta dish non-stop, and we were excited to give it a try.
The idea is that you bake a block of feta in a dish of tomatoes and olive oil. There are many iterations and lots of opinions about this particular dish on the internet, and we appreciated these tips to make the best version of the viral dish.
- Don’t Over Do It On the Pasta
- Short Pasta Is Preferred
- Save Your Pasta Water
- Get Good-Quality Feta
- Don’t be Afraid of the Amount of Oil
- Get Creative with Seasoning
- Don’t Forget to Season with Salt
We used a fun fusilli corti col buco as our noodle, but 8-10 oz. of your favorite short cut pasta will do great.
Pasta water is the secret ingredient in most great pasta dishes. The starchy water helps to bring the sauce together. Just scoop out some water using a coffee cup before you drain the noodles. Bonus points if it’s a cheese-themed cup.
Using a sheep’s milk feta is the best choice for this dish. It is creamy, a bit salty, and not too acidic or sour. Our favorite is the Hidden Springs Feta, coming from Wisconsin.
To add some Aperitivo flair, we threw in some ‘nduja. Because if we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times before, ‘nduja makes everything better. If you are looking to keep this recipe vegetarian, opt for some chopped Calabrian peppers or crushed red pepper flakes.
Most recipes call for baking the tomatoes and feta at 400, then broiling or increasing the temperature for the last 10 minutes to achieve some golden color and caramelization. We found that the dish was still able to take on some color without the broiling step. Since the Aperitivo Test Kitchen is now home to a little baby, and the fire alarm is known to go off anytime the oven is above 400, it wasn’t worth the risk. And it still turned out great. If you do not have a sensitive firm alarm or a sleeping baby, go for the broil!
Lastly, tomatoes on the vine make for a great photo, but are by no means necessary to make this dish. Loose tomatoes are the preferred option. 🍅
Jump on the train and make this!
Baked Feta, Tomato, & ‘Nduja Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup EVOO
- .5 lbs Hidden Springs Feta – drained
- 2 oz 'nduja – room temperature
- 10 oz short cut pasta – penne, rigatoni, fusilli
- 1 garlic clove – finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves – chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Flaky sea salt – for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Toss the tomatoes and EVOO with salt and pepper in a medium bowl until well coated. Add tomatoes to a 2-3 qt. baking dish. Smush the 'nduja between your fingers and scatter the pieces around the baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have started to burst and the feta is soft and slightly golden. Increase the heat to 450F, and continue to cook until everything is caramalized, 10 to 15 minutes more.
- While the tomatoes bake, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Just before draining, grab a coffee cup and use it to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- After 40-45 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven and add in the chopped garlic. Stir and smush the tomatoes and feta around until a sauce begins to form. Add in the pasta, half of the chopped basil, and a splash of pasta water. Continue to stir until the sauce coats the noodles. Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick.
- Dish up the pasta onto plates, top with remaining chopped basil and flaky salt.
Julianna Spring Pizza
More signs that spring is here! Julianna is back in the case and looking beautiful as ever.
The rind of this semi-soft goat cheese from Capriole is rubbed with thyme, lavender, rosemary, and wildflowers. It has a delicate sweet and savory balance and a buttery texture that makes it a great cheese to snack on with olives and charcuterie.
Fully melting a delicate cheese like this will dilute some of its subtleties, so adding the cheese after the pizza is cooked warms it up a bit, without taking away the flavors.
Feel free to use your favorite pizza dough recipe, precooked flatbread, or frozen pizza crust.
One bunch of grocery store scallions will be plenty for this recipe. But if you have larger, farmer’s market green onions, use a few less. You’ll want a little more than 2 cups of sliced scallions before you start cooking them.
If you are feeling spicy, feel free to sprinkle over some red pepper flakes or serve with some chili oil.
Julianna Spring Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 recipe your favorite pizza crust
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 tbsp EVOO
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 radishes
- Splash of light vinegar, rice, white wine, white balsamic
- .25 pound wedge of Capriole Julianna
- 1 tbsp tarragon leaves or chives
- Honey, for drizzling
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Place pizza stone, pan, or baking sheet in the oven to preheat.
- Prepare or roll out pizza crust. Let rest while preparing the scallions.
- Slice the scallions on an extreme bias. Cook over medium-high heat with butter for 6-8 minutes, until the scallions are bright green, soft, with a few crispy spot. Season with salt and pepper.
- Carefully remove the hot stone, pan, or sheet from the oven and place pizza crust on the hot pan. Drizzle with olive oil and spread on a thin layer of mustard. Scatter scallions evenly over the crust.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and crisp.
- While the pizza is in the oven, thinly slice the radishes. Place in a small bowl with a splash of vinegar. Set aside.
- Thinly slice the Julianna. Don't remove the rind!
- Chop the tarragon leaves or chives.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the sliced Julianna and let the residual heat of the pizza slightly melt the cheese.
- Scatter the radishes and herbs over the top and drizzle with honey.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
*If you think your crust will take longer, feel free to add the scallions halfway through cooking. But they should be able to last about 20 minutes in a hot oven. Or if you are using a premade pizza crust and it doesn’t need that much time in the oven, cook the scallions a bit longer on the stove.
Sardine Sandwich
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it 100 times.
WE LOVE TINNED FISH.
They are a delicious snack, full of brightness, flavor, and nutrients. And even better, you don’t have to cook any seafood to enjoy them!
Tinned fish is even more important and useful during these quarantined times because they are shelf-stable and can be the protein backbone for all sorts of meals. —> see all our other tinned fish recipes.
A simple and well-thought-out sandwich is hard to beat. This sandwich combines the briny and salty sardines, the acidic crunch of pickled carrots, spicy and creamy Calabrian mayo, all topped off with crunchy potato chips.
Use this recipe as a blueprint for more tinned fish sandwiches:
- Any tinned fish can be substituted – tuna, mackerel, salmon, clams
- “Quickle” any crunchy veggies you have on hand – radishes, onions, cucumbers, asparagus
- Feel free to add more to the mayo – lemon zest, grated garlic, chopped herbs
- Choose any bread that you have! If you are stuck at home and want to try making some for yourself, try this simple focaccia recipe from Bon Appetit
- Obviously, any potato chips will work, but we are partial to the Salt & Vinegar Sal de Ibiza chips
And remember, we are still here to supply all the goodies to make life still feel as normal as it can!
Sardine Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 carrot
- 1 Tbsp vinegar, apple cider, sherry, white wine, etc.
- A pinch sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 Divina Calabrian Chili pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tin Sardines
- A handful mixed greens
- A handful potato chips
- 1 square fococcia, sliced in half and lightly toasted
Instructions
- Thinly shave the carrot using a vegetable peeler. Place in a small bowl with the vinegar. Add a pinch of sugar and enough water to cover the carrot. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
- In another small bowl, stir together the mayo and the chopped Calabrian pepper.
- Open the tin of sardines and remove the backbones if desired. Gently tear into chunks and set aside.
- Build the sandwich. Spread a good helping of mayo on both slices of bread. Arrange the sardines across the bottom piece of bread. Top with the pickled carrots and mixed greens. Carefully place a handful of the potato chips on the lettuce and place the top piece of bread on top.
- Gently smash down and enjoy immediately.
BCBLT – Blue Cheese Bacon Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich.
You’ve seen BLAT. You might have seen a PLT. Heck, you might have seen a SPLAT. But here, we present to you, the BCBLT – Blue Cheese Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich.
We were inspired by our friend in cheese, Cheese Sex Death, and wanted to recreate her amazing idea of spreading funky, smokey and tangy blue cheese on an already almost perfect sandwich.
A general cooking rule of thumb, the fewer ingredients a recipe calls for, the higher quality those ingredients should be. And that holds true for a simple sandwich like a BLT. You will taste every component that goes into it, and the better they taste on their own, the better the sandwich will be.
Rogue River Smokey Blue is a GREAT cheese to use on a BLT. It almost has enough smoky richness that it could replace the bacon altogether. You shouldn’t. But you could. If this seems too strong for you, any creamy and mild (as opposed to sharp and acidic) blue cheese would work – Chiraboga, Gorgonzola, Bay Blue.
Look for a nice thick-cut smokey bacon. It is the main protein on the sandwich, so something with a nice chew and meatiness is best.
Choose your favorite crunchy and sturdy lettuce. Arugula, butter, iceberg, etc. Want to be fancier? Opt for pea shoots or sprouts. It’s your sandwich. You do you.
Arguably the most important component of the sandwich, the tomato. In season, use a juicy heirloom (the uglier the better.) Not in season, reach for a beefsteak. You should always salt the tomato while assembling the sandwich, but this is even more important when the tomato is a bit meh.
Mayonnaise brings some need creaminess to a traditional BLT. It is still necessary for a BCBLT, but don’t feel the need to slather it on thick. You’ll get some fatty creaminess from the blue cheese.
Making a quickle of radishes and red onions not only adds a nice crunchy texture to the sandwich but brings a fresh vinegary note to each bite. Thinly slice a few radishes and a quarter of red onion. Toss in a small bowl with your favorite vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Last but not least, the bread. The unsung hero of the BLT. It doesn’t even get a letter in the name, but can make or break the sandwich. Something too crunchy and chewy will make the ingredients swish out and be too hard to bite into. But something too soft with soak up the tomato juice and get soggy. Bagels are a fun option, or a sturdy thick-sliced white or sourdough bread.
A sandwich recipe seems a little silly, so you are on your own here. But remember, there isn’t much better than a well-balanced and well-constructed sandwich. So stop and think about your components before you make a sandwich.
Mussels & Corn in a Spicy Tomato Broth
Though this recipe is titled “Mussels & Corn in a Spicy Tomato Broth,” it might as well be called “Liquid Gold I’d Like to Dip Everything In Sight In.”
The broth has a wonderful sweet and spiciness from the corn kernels and the Calabrian chilis, along with some bright acid from the wine and tomatoes and meaty richness from the pancetta. Everything blends together and begs, nay yearns for some crusty bread to dip into to.
And don’t feel limited to just mussels here. You can use clams, shrimp, any firm white fish – just gently poach until cooked through. Or don’t even feel limited to seafood for that matter. This sauce makes an awesome eggs-in-purgatory base the next morning – if there are any leftovers.
This recipe does lend itself to late summer produce – corn and tomatoes. But if you have a craving during the winter months, frozen corn kernels will work just fine. Just skip the roasting step. Cherry tomatoes are generally available all year round, but a few whole canned tomatoes would work as well.
If you haven’t picked up a jar of the Divina Calabrian Chili peppers yet, do yourself a favor and run now and get one. The Calabria region of Italy produces some of Aperitivo’s favorite things (wink wink, ‘nduja) and these peppers lend unmatchable spiciness with a tiny hint of sweetness to anything you add them to.
Langhe Arneis is a perfect wine, both to use and drink with, this dish. The Northern Italian bottle has notes of ripe pears and limestone. Any dry and acidic white wine can work in this dish, but get something that you still want to drink after you use what you need to in the recipe.
Because you already get the gist that “crusty bread for dipping” is a non-negotiable for this dish, high-quality butter for the bread is a close second. Pull it out of the fridge before you start cooking. That way it will be soft and spreadable by the time dinner is served. Trust us. High quality, high fat, room temperature butter takes your bite from, “this is delicious,” to “this is so freaking delicious I don’t know what to do with myself.” And that just sounds more fun, right?
Mussels & Corn in a Spicy Tomato Broth
Ingredients
- 3 ears fresh corn on the cob
- 1 Tbsp EVOO
- ¼ pound thick-sliced pancetta – diced into small cubes (about ¼ in.)
- 1 small red onion – diced
- 2 garlic cloves – chopped
- 1 – 3 Divina Calabrian Chili peppers – coarsely chopped
- 2 cups assorted tomatoes – heirloom, cherry, grape, etc.
- 1 cup dry white wine – try the Langhe Arneis
- 24 mussels – scrubbed
- 2 Tbsp butter – plus more for bread
- 1 Tbsp chives – chopped
- Crusty bread – for dipping
Instructions
- Roast corn cobs in a dry cast iron pan over medium-high heat, rotating around until some kernels begin to get charred, about 8 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, slice the kernels off the cob and set aside.
- Wipe out the pan and return to medium-low heat. (You may need to keep the pan off the heat for a few minutes to cool down.)
- Add EVOO, cubed pancetta, and diced red onion and cook over medium-low heat until the fat starts to render and the onions become translucent about 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped garlic and Calabrian peppers and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes, chopping larger ones and cook until they start to burst and release their juices, an additional 4 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with wine, scraping up the bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Before you add the mussels, discard any that won’t close. Gently add into the pan, along with two tablespoons of butter.
- Cover the pan and simmer until the mussels begin to open, about 5-7 minutes. Discard any mussels that don’t open. Pour corn kernels back into the pan and gently stir to combine.
- Serve out of the cast iron pan, or place a few mussels in a shallow bowl and spoon corn and broth over the top.Garnish with fresh chopped chives and serve with lots of crusty bread and butter.
Notes
*This recipe is very scalable, serving 2 – 4 as is. If you have more people, get more mussels. If you need to add more, bump up the wine by a half a cup. Or if you’d rather save the wine for drinking, add a half cup extra of water instead.
Tomato Ricotta Zucchini Rollatini
Late summer’s harvest can sometimes get a bit excessive. Having giant zucchinis and hundreds of juicy cherry tomatoes overflowing in bowls in your kitchen is a wonderful problem to have. But you still need to find a way to use the abundance of veggies before they pass their prime.
Combining sweet cherry tomatoes with fluffy ricotta cheese to make a rich and creamy sauce makes a delicious base for rolled zucchini slices.
If you have leftover Tomato Ricotta sauce, it is great tossed with pasta, spooned over roasted vegetables, or smeared cold over crusty bread.
Tomato Ricotta Zucchini Rollatini
Ingredients
Tomato Ricotta Sauce
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Zucchini Rollatini
- 1 large zucchini or 2 small
- salt and peper
- 12 slices La Quercia Prosciutto thinly sliced
- 1 ball fresh mozzarella sliced into 12 pieces
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano plus more to finish
- Fresh basil leaves
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- To make the sauce, process the tomatoes, cheeses, garlic, anchovy fillets, and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Add the basil, and pulse until combined but with some green flecks, 7 to 8 times. Taste and add salt and pepper. Use right away for zucchini rollatini, or cover and refrigerate for up to one week.
- To make the rollatini, preheat a grill pan on medium-high heat. Using a mandoline, slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips until you have 12 full slices. Strips should be a little less than ¼ in. Season both sides of the zucchini slices.
- Spray grill pan with cooking spray. Grill zucchini slices 2 minutes on one side until slightly softened and grill marks appear. Gently flip over and grill for another 30 seconds. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat with all zucchini slices.
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Spread 1/4 cup of the tomato ricotta sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- On a cutting board, lay out a slice of zucchini. Take one slice of prosciutto and lay flat across zucchini. Place a piece of mozzarella on one side of the zucchini and roll up the slice. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until all 12 slices are complete.
- Spoon additional sauce on top of each zucchini rollatini and sprinkle on freshly grated Parmesan. Bake in the 400℉ oven for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
- Top with torn basil leaves, more grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.
Chèvre Green Chile Breakfast Tostadas
Laura Chenel is considered by many to be one of the founding mothers of American artisan cheese. Laura, along with Allison Hooper of Vermont Creamery, Judy Schad of Capriole and Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove, blazed the trail for farmstead cheese in America.
During the 80’s, when most of America was producing – and eating – artificial cheese made in large factories, these women took what little resources and knowledge they had and began to make small-batch, artisan goat cheese.
These women’s contribution to America’s cheese culture is undeniable, and we are honored to feature many of their cheeses in the Aperitivo case.
Laura Chenel’s marinated goat cheese comes in the most adorable (and recyclable) handled buckets, and pack a ton of flavor. The rich and creamy goat cheese is then blended with green enchilada sauce, making for the most addictive and versatile condiment.
This recipe uses the sauce as a base for breakfast tostadas. But could be used in traditional enchiladas, as a dip with corn chips or as a southwestern inspired salad dressing.
If you are feeling up to the challenge, make your own green chile sauce. But if you are pressed for time (or lazy,) the store-bought jarred variety works just fine.
Chèvre Green Chile Breakfast Tostadas
For the sauce:
- 1 15 oz. jar green chile enchilada sauce
- 1 bucket Laura Chenel Marinated Goat Cheese – Jalapeño Chile
For the tostadas:
- Tostada shells
- Eggs, fried to over medium or sunny-side up
- Pickled jalapeños or Mama Lil’s peppers
- Cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper
To make the sauce, add the jar of enchilada sauce and all but one of the marinated goat cheese discs to a blender and purée until smooth. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to one week.
To make the tostadas, place the shells flat on a plate. Generously spoon the sauce over the shells. Top each shell with an egg. Crumble the last disc of the goat cheese and scatter around the tostadas. Lightly drizzle oil from the goat cheese bucket around the tostadas and garnish with pickled peppers, chopped cilantro and salt and pepper.
Roasted Cauliflower Mac & La Tur
Don’t let the lack of color on this hearty plate fool you into thinking it lacks flavor.
Using La Tur, a beautiful three milk cheese from Piedmont, Italy, in a cheese sauce adds an earthy sweetness that is a great contrast to the nutty and caramelized cauliflower. Depending how ripe the La Tur is, the rind may stick to the paper around the outside. Don’t panic. Just use a spoon to scrape as much of the soft cheese as you can into the sauce.
Whole wheat macaroni makes the dish a bit more toothsome and hearty, but feel free to use any white macaroni or an alternative flour pasta.
This is a baked version, but the recipe can be haulted for a stovetop version. After mixing the cheese sauce, noodles and cauliflower, transfer to serving dishes and that’s it!
Roasted cauliflower mac & la tur
1 head cauliflower- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 box, whole wheat macaroni
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 piece La Tur, top rind removed
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
- Breadcrumbs, or crushed crackers or chips
- Microgreens to garnish, optional
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut the cauliflower into small florets (around the same size as your noodles) and toss on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 35-40 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a handful of salt and boil noodles according to box instructions.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Continue to stir in order to cook the flour, about 3 minutes. Slowly stream in the milk, whisking constantly to avoid clumping. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until the mixture is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from the heat and add the La Tur, a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce becomes smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Mix the noodles, cauliflower and cheese sauce together into a baking dish, top with crushed crackers or breadcrumbs, drizzle with olive oil and pop under the broiler for 5 minutes, until golden and brown. Serve and enjoy.
