Greens mac 'n' cheese
Leek, broccoli & spinach, toasted almond topping
Greens mac 'n' cheese
Leek, broccoli & spinach, toasted almond topping
Nutrition per serving
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Calories 619 31%
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Fat 25.1g 36%
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Saturates 12.4g 62%
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Sugars 12g 13%
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Salt 0.9g 15%
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Protein 29g 58%
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Carbs 75.1g 29%
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Fibre 6.4g -
Of an adult's reference intake
Ingredients
- 1 large leek
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 400 g purple sprouting or tenderstem broccoli
- 40 g unsalted butter
- ½ a bunch of fresh thyme , (15g)
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 1 litre semi-skimmed milk
- 450 g dried macaroni
- 30 g Parmesan cheese
- 150 g mature Cheddar cheese
- 100 g baby spinach
- 50 g flaked almonds
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Method
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
- Trim, halve and wash the leek and peel the garlic, then finely slice with the broccoli stalks, reserving the florets for later.
- Place the sliced veg in a large casserole pan over a medium heat with the butter, then strip in the thyme leaves and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly.
- Stir in the flour, followed slowly by the milk, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring regularly.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain.
- Grate the Parmesan and most of the Cheddar into the sauce, and mix well. Tip into a blender, add the spinach and whiz until smooth – you may need to work in batches.
- Season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then stir through the pasta and broccoli florets, loosening with a splash of milk, if needed.
- Transfer to a 25cm x 35cm baking dish, grate over the remaining Cheddar and scatter over the almonds. Bake for 30 minutes, or until beautifully golden and bubbling.
Tips
EASY SWAPS
– Support our British cheeses! Use Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire in place of the Cheddar here. Mrs Kirkham’s is one of the best cheeses around for melting – sprinkle on top of a baked gratin dish like this to take it to the next level.
– You could use 2 onions instead of the leek.
– Switch out the spinach for any kind of exciting fresh or frozen greens, discarding the tough stalks. For example, in springtime, spring greens or baby chard work well. And in winter, why not try some cooked savoy cabbage, cavolo nero or even turnip tops if you can find them!
GO VEGGIE
– Substitute the Parmesan for vegetarian hard cheese.
BOOST YOUR BREADCRUMBS
I sometimes add breadcrumbs to the top for bonus crunch:
– Try blitzing garlic and fresh or dried herbs, like rosemary, oregano or thyme, into your crumbs.
– Finely grating in a little lemon zest will add a hint of freshness.
– Chuck in some nuts for extra crunch – think almonds, cashews or pine nuts.
– A couple of anchovy fillets would be delicious.
– Add a pinch of dried red chilli flakes if you like some heat.
