Cauliflower mac n cheese

I'd really been wanting some mac and cheese lately, and I wanted it with cauliflower in it.  Becky had been talking about some omelet she had that was cauliflower and chard (granted, she wasn't talking about it in a good way), but it made me think that this would be a good combo when slathered in cheesy cream sauce and mixed with pasta and baked.  How could that not make you drool?  This was a bit of a free-form recipe, but it worked well, I thought.  I'll totally make it again.  The Ed-rating was so-so, unfortunately.  He didn't like the chard, said he would have preferred it on the side.  But he liked the cauliflower.  Can't win 'em all, at least I was super happy!

Cauliflower mac

Made ~6-8 servings

1 head of cauliflower

1 bunch of swiss chard

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 bunch of sage

1 box of pasta

~1/4lb cheese, of a melty variety (I used a mix of cheddar and jarlesburg)

1 tbs butter

1 tbs flour

~2C milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

Bread crumbs, for the top

My goal here was to minimize the number of dishes that I used, and minimize time.  I am a hungry woman!  Feed me cheesy pasta!

Get a big pot of water boiling.  Preheat your oven to 450F.

Dice the onion, and begin to sweat it.  Dice the garlic.

Meanwhile, remove the chard from its stems.  Dice the stems and chop the chard.  Once the onions are sweated,  add the garlic, and once that is toasted, throw the chard stems into the frying pan.  Add some kosher salt.  Once those are tender enough to be tasty, add the leaves.  You just want to wilt the leaves.

Cut the cauliflower into large florets.  Once the water boils, add them to the water.  After a few minutes (5?), test it with a fork.  If it's done, pull it out with a slotted spoon.  Put in a big bowl.  Put the pasta in the water.  You want to cook it to just a little less than al dente.

If the chard is done, add it to the big bowl.  Grate the cheeses.  More cheese is best.  If in doubt, add more cheese.

Puree half the cauliflower in a blender or food processor.  Once your frying pan is free, melt the butter, then whisk in the flour.  Once it's combined nicely, add the milk, still whisking.  Then add the cheese, and salt the sauce to taste.  I added ~1tsp kosher salt, I think.  Add the pureed cauliflower to the sauce.  Pour into the big bowl.  Once the pasta is done, reserve some of the cooking water in case the sauce is too thick, then drain the pasta and add it to the big bowl.  Mix everything together.

Transfer to baking dish.

Put some breadcrumbs and more cheese on top, and bake for ~20min, until the top is golden brown, and the insides are bubbling.  Devour!