Roasted cauliflower mac and cheese, my ultimate comfort food dish for winter. The addition of whole grain mustard and lots of black pepper, add a delicous flavour with the mature cheddar cheese and nutty roasted cauliflower.
I like to roast the cauliflower rather than boiling it as i love the flavour that it gets. I like to add some of the cauliflower leaves too.
I use mature cheddar, but you can use a mix or several different cheeses if you wish, like cheddar, Parmesan, or Cheshire cheese.
I use sage, but thyme is a great alternative, you can mix some through the sauce.
I used whole grain mustard, but we also love it with English mustard. It has a much stronger flavour so i recommend adding a tea spoon and tasting it, then add more if you wish.
I used bronze drawn slow dried macaroni pasta, but any macaroni, or small shaped pasta will work.
Roasted cauliflower mac and cheese
Course: dinner, pasta, recipe
Ingredients
- For the roasted cauliflower
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1 large head of cauliflower
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olive oil
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salt and pepper
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1/4 tsp ground garlic granules
- For the sauce
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400g macaroni pasta
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60g unsalted butter
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4 tbsp plain flour
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400ml whole milk
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200ml double cream
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2 heaped tsp whole grain mustard
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pinch of cayenne pepper
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1 tsp salt
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Freshly ground black pepper
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300g mature cheddar cheese, plus extra for the top
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20g breadcrumbs
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A few sage leaves
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180c fan
Break up the cauliflower into small florets, add to a roasting pan and drizzle over some olive oil to lightly coat. Then sprinkle over some salt, black pepper and the garlic granules and toss together. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges look golden, stirring half way through. I like to keep some of the leaves of the cauliflower to nestle on top of the baking dish. - Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. cook the pasta for about 6 minutes. remove 2 tbsp of the pasta cooking water and keep to one side then pour the pasta through a strainer.
- Add the butter in a large pan and melt. Stir in the flour with a whisk and stir over the heat to cook out the flour for about 4 minutes. Then slowly add the milk/cream while whisking so lumps do not form.
- Season with salt and black pepper and add the mustard and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Add the grated cheese and mix. Then add the pasta and the reserved pasta water and mix together. Stir in the roasted cauliflower.
- Pour into to a baking dish, Sprinkle over the bread crumbs and grate some more cheese on top.
- Nestle in a few cauliflower leaves and place some sage leaves on top. Crack over some black pepper and a sprinkle of flaked salt.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. serve immediately.
#Roasted #cauliflower #mac #cheese
