food to glow

Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Loaf is a lower-carb take on my popular Cauliflower Cheese Cake. Although smaller in size, this mini version holds oodles of flavour. Think highly-umami blue cheese crumbles, nutty almond flour and sweetly-fruity pink peppercorns. Enjoy a thick slice – or two – for dinner with plenty of vegetable sides, and perhaps a homemade apple sauce. It is lovely both hot and cold.

Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Loaf. Really?

This savoury loaf may not look or sound all that promising. Cauliflower, while undeniably a top-tier vegetable these days, and super nutritious, is not an expected ingredient in what looks like a cake. But, I pinky-swear that you will not regret giving this a go. It may even tempt the smallest and pickiest members of your family. Especially if you cut their portion into “fingers” and serve with a little pot of ketchup. The blue cheese is not overwhelming and is great for developing budding palates. Most kids like savoury flavours if we give them a chance. If you are a bit nervous though, sub in some grated Cheddar cheese. Or make one of each! They keep well, and you can freeze baked slices to reheat and enjoy at any time.

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How easy is this to make?

A dinky, stripped-down version of my crowd-ready Cauliflower Cheese Cake, Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Loaf is remarkably easy to make, and requires only modest effort and skill. If you have children away at college, I really think this is a great recipe to share with them, especially if they are vegetarian. Or trying to eat more vegetables than pizza!

I’ve cheekily asked you to use not-quite-store-cupboard pink peppercorns. But if you don’t have them, just do without. The end result will still be pretty darn fabulous. Though I really do love these fragile little spheres of fruity-hot pepper, finding them an easy way to add an unexpected flavour dimension. I add them as suggested optional ingredient to an upcoming staple low-carb recipe of mine – Low-Carb (Keto) Crackers.

To make this Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Loaf you are essentially just chopping a small cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and steaming it (or you could cook frozen cauliflower, draining well and chopping), then mixing with sautéd shallots (or onion), thyme leaves and some other flavourings. In a mixing bowl you will be whisking up some eggs, almond flour, baking powder and blue cheese, adding the steamed cauliflower and the sautéd, flavoured shallots. Scrape this into an oiled and base-lined loaf tin (the 1 lb size) and bung in the oven for half an hour. That is it! If you like baking sweet cakes, think of this as a nutritious, fiber-rich dinner version.

How easy does this sound? 

What do I need?

A small cauliflower – you can use the tender core and leaves too

Olive oil – not much

A fat French shallot or small onion (I think shallots have more flavour)

Fresh thyme leaves

Blue cheese (get vegetarian blue cheese if required; it’s easy to get in the UK) – or a flavourful Cheddar

Almond flour or ground almonds (the former preferred for a smoother result)

Baking powder

Organic eggs

Dijon mustard (optional if you hate mustard!)

Turmeric and black pepper

Pink peppercorns (I use Bart’s brand)

Sesame seeds and pine nuts (can use chopped fresh hazelnuts/cobnuts as they are so seasonal right now)

What to serve with Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Loaf

As with my original Cauliflower Cheese Cake, this mini version can go the “roasted dinner” route: roasted potatoes or celeriac, cooked carrots, broccoli spears, gravy. Even a pile of fluffy, puffy Yorkshire puddings or popovers.

My larger cake was developed as a festive vegetarian main dish, so if you fancy this at Thanksgiving or Christmas, surround it with all of the trimmings you might usually have with such a meal. I bet it would be amazing with nippy-sweet cranberry sauce or my Pomegranate and Cranberry Salsa. And, you can certainly scale this one up for a proper extended-family feast – just double the ingredients, put into a round 23 cm cake tin, and bake for about 50 minutes.

One thing I highly recommend is that you serve it with at least one fresh side. You will see in the above image a simple but pretty salad of thinly sliced celeriac and apple. It’s almost no effort and the taste just explodes in your mouth. It makes a nice crisp accompaniment to the softer main dish. I will share this one very soon. But do pop this “dinner cake” on your menu meantime, and tell me below what you think. And don’t forget to rate it, if you try it. Click the stars under the thumbnail image in the recipe card below. 🙂