Cauliflower and Mushroom Gougère

This recipe is from The Cook's Encyclopedia of VEGETABLES by Christine Ingram
There are a bunch of notes, so please read my notes before you make this. I made it without the ham, but I think I would dice it before I added it to the filling.

serves four to six
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups water
4 ounces butter or margarine*( mantequilla)
5 ounces all-purpose flour (harina de trigo)
4 ounces Gruyère or Cheddar cheese, finely diced **
1 teaspoon French mustard***(mostaza Dejon)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE FILLING
14 ounce can tomatoes **** (tomates pelado y picado)
1 tablespoon sunflower oil***** (aceite de girasol)
1/2 ounce butter or margarine* (mantequilla)
1 onion chopped (cebolla)
4 ounces white mushrooms, halved if large (champiñon)
1 small cauliflower, broken into small florets (coliflor)
sprig of thyme****** (tomillo)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and butter a large oval ovenproof dish******Place the water and butter together in a large saucepan and heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Beat will with a wooden spoon for about 30 seconds until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until the mixture is thick and glossy. Stir in the cheese and mustard and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture around the sides of the dish, leaving a hollow in the center for the filling.
3. To make the filling, purèe the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and then pour it into a measuring jug. Add enough water to make up to 1 1/4 cups of liquid.
4. Heat the oil and butter in a flameproof casserole and fry the onion for about 3-4 minutes until softened but not browned. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes until they begin to be flecked with brown. Add the cauliflower florets and stir-fry for 1 minute.
5. Add the tomato liquid, thyme and seasoning. Cook uncovered over low heat for about 5 minutes until the cauliflower is only just tender.
6. Sppon the mixture in the ovenproof dish, adding all the liquid. Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, until the outer pastry is well risen and golden brown.

COOK'S TIP
For a variation, ham or bacon can be added. Use about 4-5 ounces thickly sliced roast ham and add to the sauce at the end of step 5.

MY NOTES:

*I used butter, yuck, I don't use margarine, who are they kidding? If you want to use margarine you can look up the translation for yourself, but don't blame me if it doesn't work out., or tastes like plastic.

**I used Costco grated Mexican cheese blend because it has Cheddar. You can find Gruyère at Costco and most Supermarkets in Mèrida.

*** The recipe didn't specify prepared or powdered mustard, but since it said French, I assumed it was prepared mustard used Maile brand Dejon which I bought here.

**** The next time I make this I am going to just use tomato puree,I don't remember if tomato sauce is thinner NOB or not.

*****I have never seen sunflower oil here, I used canola.

******I didn't have any fresh thyme so I used a dash of ground thyme.

*******The photo shows a knife alongside a square baking dish with rounded corners, so I used a 8inch baking dish with rounded corners, next time I am using smaller dish.