Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Bake
Prep time: 10 min / Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 4
This recipe is vegetarian
Approximate price: £6.68 for full recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1 head of cauliflower
1 head of broccoli
100g butter
100g onion, diced
100g flour
1 litre milk
300g cheese
METHOD:
1. Pre heat the oven at 180°C.
2. Using a small knife cut the cauliflower & broccoli into florets. SEE TIPS
3. Put a large pan of water on to the boil. When water starts boiling add the cauliflower florets and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the broccoli and cook for another 3 minutes.
4. Drain well and put in a greased large ovenproof tray.
5. To make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a medium size saucepan, add the chopped onions and cook on low heat until the onions are soft (do not colour). Then add the flour stirring constantly and cook for approx. 2 minutes, not allowing the flour to stick or burn.
6. Start adding the milk, a little at the time, stirring constantly to get rid of any lumps. Make sure the flour has absorbed all the milk before you keep on adding more.
7. Keep on adding the milk until you have used it all up. You should now have a thick white sauce with no lumps.
8. Add 2/3 of the grated cheese to the sauce and stir until melted. Cook on low heat for another 2 minutes stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
9. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower & broccoli and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top.
10. Cook in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes until bubbling and the cheese is golden brown.
TIPS:
How to cut a cauliflower into florets: Use a chopping board. Remove the leaves from the base of the cauliflower, they should snap easy by using your hands, otherwise use a small sharp knife and cut them off. Remove the stem at the base using a knife. Now cut the head into large florets using the knife or if you can with your fingers. If the florets are too big you can then cut them again into smaller ones.
How to cut broccoli into florets: Hold the broccoli with the stem facing up on a chopping board. With a small sharp knife cut the florets from the crown, leaving as much of the steam as possible on the florets. Keep cutting until you have removed all the florets.
Once you have finished preparing the cauliflower & broccoli make sure to keep the stems. Use them up in your vegetable soups or grate them in your tomato sauces to up the vegetable contents.
To make this dish extra scrumptious you could top it with cheesy crumbs: Instead of sprinkling the grated cheese on top of the cauliflower make the following. Cheesy breadcrumbs: mix 100g dried breadcrumbs (or fresh that you can make by grating some old bread) with 50g melted butter & the grated cheese that you were meant to sprinkle on top. Mix well and then sprinkle on top before putting in in the oven. Cook as usual. It will give it an extra yummy crunch.
If available some grated nutmeg in the cheese sauce is very nice. You can also add some crushed garlic when cooking the onions (step 5) for extra flavour.
You can mix in some left over chopped chicken or ham with the cauliflower & broccoli if you feel like adding some extra protein.
Great recipe to use up bits of old cheese that you have in the fridge, grate them and add them to the sauce.
This recipe works really well with frozen cauliflower & broccoli too, just follow manufacturer’s instructions for cooking times.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Nutrition per serving, based on 4 servings per recipe with no added salt:
Energy 648Kcal
Fat 25.05g
Saturates 10.03g
Carbs 42.37g
Sugars 0g
Fibre 6.42g
Protein 18.95g
Salt 1.03g
Cauliflower is a heart-friendly vegetable because it is a source of antioxidants. It is also good for your brain because it has choline that is great for brain development. It also contains fibre that helps you feel full & gets your insides moving. Cauliflower is a good low carb alternative to grains & legumes while also helping you increase your veggie intake: cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower hummus, etc.
Broccoli is rich in antioxidants that may help keep the cells in your body healthy. It also contains vitamin K that may help keeping your bones strong.
Both cauliflower & broccoli have something called sulphoraphane, one of the benefits of this nutrients is reducing the risks of cancer by protecting cells from DNA damage.
Milk is a great source of protein & calcium. Calcium is good for your bone health. It is recommended that children from 4 years old drink semi-skimmed milk. A great way to still get all the goodness from the milk but with less fat content.
Cheese is a good source of protein and calcium. Cheese is high in saturated fat and may raise blood cholesterol levels, therefore should be eating as part of a balanced diet.
Onions are among the vegetables highest in antioxidants and have been shown to help cholesterol levels.
