Finnish Cauliflower

I really like baked cauliflower. I've made it with herbs, I've made it with cheese, and I've made it with breadcrumbs. I love finding new ways to bake it so when I came across a recipe that baked it with cheese, beer, and bread, I was immediately sold. It sounded great.

This cauliflower is very easy to prepare and doesn't use a lot of ingredients. It does use caraway which I'll admit I had no idea what exactly caraway was. I had a jar of it in my spice rack but when I smelled it I still had no clue. Finally when I tasted it I knew what it was-it's the seed they use when making rye bread. It tastes exactly like it and gives this cauliflower dish a very distinct taste.

The cauliflower is sauteed in butter and then mixed with the bread and cheese. It's then poured into baking dish and covered with eggs and beer. I used half the eggs recommended because I didn't want it to be too quiche like. It ended up tasting wonderful. The beer, cheese, and spices mixed with the bread and cauliflower had an amazing flavor. It was tender but the bread added a subtle crunch to the dish.

Finnish Cauliflower (adapted from Taste of Home)
2 c. cubed day old bread (rye, wheat, or white)
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 T. butter
1 t. caraway seeds
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
¾ c. beer
1 t. ground mustard
½ t. ground coriander
1 t. pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the cubed bread on a baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the bread is brown and crisp on the edges. Remove from the oven and then turn the oven up to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, saute the cauliflower in butter over medium high heat along with the caraway seeds. Heat until tender. Remove from heat and mix in the bread and cheese.