Creamed cauliflower with brown butter and Gruyère cheese

Cut the cauliflower into smaller florets (discard the green leaves on the bottom, but use the whole head) and place in a medium-size pot. Add the cream and salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover with a lid so that the cauliflower can steam and cook at the same time, taking care that the cream doesn’t boil over – watch it carefully.

Cook until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, then transfer the cooked cauliflower and half the hot cream to a blender or food processor. Process until very smooth and silky – add more hot cream to make it runnier (if serving as a soup-style starter, add all the cream). Adjust the seasoning and set aside.

To make the brown butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Keep on cooking until it bubbles, swirling the saucepan every now and then. After 5–7 minutes the butter will start to foam and it will release some golden brown bits on the bottom and a wonderfully nutty flavour. Remove from the heat and keep swirling until the foaming subsides, then set aside.

Serve the hot cauliflower purée with a drizzle of brown butter and a few shavings of cheese. A few shavings of mature Gruyère-style cheese (Kleinrivier Gruberg or Dalewood Huguenot work very well).

Recipe extract from Cape Mediterranean by Ilse van der Merwe published by Penguin Random House. The book retails for R360.