A Cheesy Goodness: Casserole...

So for dinner last night I made a broccoli and cauliflower casserole, with addition of some seasoned chicken and beef sausage or salami. I tried to do something a little different this time by using a mozzarella cheese Mornay sauce. I was really craving some veggies and would love to have them raw but  not everyone in my house can stand the look of raw veggies so dinner had to be made and served with the veggies in newbie ninja mode!


For those who are unfamiliar with Mornay, it's said to be part of French cuisine and is essentially a white sauce (or bechamel sauce that is made using butter, flour, and milk) with the cheese of your choice (I chose mozzarella and I will be showing you how I made it).

To start the dish off you first want to season the chicken. I used about half a pound of boneless red meat but you can also substitute it for white meat or even tofu. I had the meat cut into bite size pieces and then added in the seasoning. I added a bunch of seasoning to "spice" things up which included salt and pepper to taste, paprika, ground cumin and coriander seeds, italiano seasoning, then finally some garlic, ginger, onion paste, and fresh ground coriander and green chilli.

For the fresh ground coriander (or cilantro) and green chilli you literally just want to take the two ingredients and pulverize them in a chopper to get the consistency you like. I choose too keep mine a little roughly chopped.

With all the spice you want to whip out the special ingredient, that tasty beef salami *drools*, and toss it together. Try to aim to get similarly small bit sized pieces with the salami as well.

In another bowl you want to take broccoli and cauliflower florets and drizzle them with some olive oil then sprinkle some salt and pepper for taste.

Once all that is done you want to set it aside and start working on the mornay sauce. Begin by warming up your milk (and to help it come along faster I microwaved it for a few minutes before heating it up on the stove top). Once it starts boiling you want to turn the stove off and move onto the base prep for the sauce.

While you are waiting for the milk to boil you want to take your mozzarella cheese and shred it and set aside so it can be mixed into the dish later.

Before you prepare the sauce you want to cook your meat in a pan, and once its cooked you want to add in the broccoli and cauliflower so they can sauté in the flavours released by the meat.

Moving onto the sauce, for that you want to melt your butter in a pan, taking extra care to not burn or brown it. Then you want to add in your flour and mix it completely, then let it bubble for a few minute (make sure it doesn't go brown here again) so the flour granules burst and your not left with the raw flourish taste.

Now taking the hot milk you want to pour it into this flour and butter mixture and mix it until it becomes smooth, and thickens up. At this point you want to add in your seasoning (salt, pepper, and italiano seasoning to your taste).

Now add in half of your shredded cheese and stir in until the sauce thickens up and becomes a large pot of melted cheese! *yummy*

Next take the sauce and pour it over the meat and veggies (don't worry at this point the sauce is going to be very thick and stringy). You want to mix it in as well as you can and then add in your heavy cream and continue to mix it until it's the desired consistency. An alternative to the heavy cream would be to use milk or almond milk if you prefer a slight nutty taste.

So everything is ready and done at this time you want to preheat your oven to 350F and start putting your casserole into a bake-able dish. On top of this you want to add the remainder of the mozzarella cheese, so you have a gooey top coat underneath your layer of crispy breadcrumbs. Let it bake until the cheese is melted on top, then you want to turn your oven to broil and keep a close eye on it until the top is nice and golden in colour (this will not take long at all). Let it set for 10-15 minutes then serve up and enjoy!

xoxo

Aquafina

Recipe:

- 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken

- 1/2 beef sausage/ salami

-2 heads broccoli

-1/2 head cauliflower

- salt and pepper to taste

- italiano seasoning

-1tsp paprika

-1tsp ground cumin and coriander seeds

- 1tsp ginger paste

-1tsp garlic paste

-1-1/12 tsp onion paste

-1 green chilli

-1 handfull coriander (cilantro) 

-1 ball of mozzarella cheese

-4tbsp butter

-4tbsp all-purpose flour

-2 1/2 cups milk

- 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream (or just enough to thin 

your sauce out to your desired consistency)

- breadcrumbs to coat top of dish

1. Taking your meat of choice add in salt, pepper, italiano seasoning, paprika, ground cumin and coriander seeds, ginger, garlic, onion paste, finely chopped fresh coriander and green chilli. Mix it all together and set aside to marinate.
2. Shred cheese and set aside.
3. Chop up broccoli and cauliflower (use only the florets). Drizzle the veggies with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper for taste.
4. Bring milk to boil, once it beings to boil turn off stove.
5. Take your meat and cook it in a separate pan once its done add in your broccoli and cauliflower and allow them to sauté with the meat until desired tenderness.
6. Take your butter and melt it in a pan, be careful not to let it brown, then add in your flour and let it cook for a few minutes after it starts to bubble, again try not to let it brown.
7. Now take your pre boiled milk and pour it into the butter and flour mixture and mix until the sauce becomes smooth and thick, add in salt, pepper, and italiano seasoning for taste, followed by half of your shredded cheese and mix well.
8. Pour this cheese sauce over your meat and veggies mix in as well as you can and then add in your heavy cream to thin out your sauce to its desired consistency. 
9. Pour all of this into a bake-able dish, top with the remaining half of cheese and coat that with breadcrumbs.
10. Bake at 350F until cheese is melted, then turn to broil until top is golden brown. 
11. Allow to set for 10-15 minutes.
12. Dig in and enjoy!