Cheesy Vegetable & Pasta Bake

Recipe for: PASTA – CHEESY BROCCOLI/ CAULIFLOWER BAKE

Ingredients:

·        1 litre milk

·        2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

·        2 bay leaves

·        500g/ 1ld 2 oz dried pasta (penne, macaroni etc)

·        350g broccoli and/ or cauli florets

·        75g/ 2 ½ oz butter

·        75g 2 ½ oz plain flour

·        Pinch white pepper and/ or freshly grated nutmeg

·        1 tsp mustard powder

·        Small bunch parsley, roughly chopped

·        200g grated cheese (cheddar, gruyere, parmesan or a mix)

Method:

1.      Cook the pasta in salted water according to pack instructions, adding the veg florets for the last couple of minutes

2.      Drain and reserve

3.      Meanwhile heat the milk with the bay leaves and garlic until hot, and leave to infuse

4.      In a large clean pan heat the butter until foaming, then add the flour and stir well

5.      Cook for one minute then gradually add the infused milk through a sieve

6.      Whisk/ stir constantly to make a smooth white sauce

7.      Remove from the heat and stir in the white pepper/ nutmeg, mustard powder, parsley and three quarters of the cheese.  Season.

8.      Stir in the reserved pasta and vegetable florets, mixing thoroughly

9.      Decant the mixture into a large (or several small) oven-proof dish

10.   Allow to cool slightly before scattering on the remaining cheese

11.   Meanwhile heat the grill to very high

12.   When hot grill the dish for 2-3 minutes until golden and bubbling

What else you need to know:

1.      You can make a large batch, then decant some into foil containers and freeze

2.      If frozen, defrost in fridge overnight before re-heating in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes

3.      You can make the topping even better by including some fresh breadcrumbs, extra parmesan and herbs to make a crunchy texture