Cauliflower cheese

Name: Cauliflower cheese
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 8 as a side
Ingredients: 2 cloves of garlic; 50 g unsalted butter; 50 g plain flour; 600 ml semi-skimmed milk; 500 g broccoli; 75 g mature Cheddar cheese; 1 kg cauliflower; 2 slices of ciabatta or stale bread; 2 sprigs of fresh thyme; olive oil; 25 g flaked almonds

Creamy Cheddar & broccoli sauce, almond breadcrumb topping

“This is a big favourite in the Oliver household. With broccoli mushed into the white sauce and the beautiful crunch of almonds and breadcrumbs on top – it’s an epic combo! Remember, the better the cheese, the better the dish. ”

Serves 8 as a side

Cooks In1 hour 35 minutes

DifficultyNot too tricky

Christmas Cauliflower

Nutrition per serving

Calories 270 14%
Fat 15.4g 22%
Saturates 6.8g 34%
Sugars 8.2g 9%
Salt 0.6g 10%
Protein 14.6g 29%
Carbs 19.4g 7%
Fibre 4.4g -

Of an adult's reference intake

Jamie's Easy Christmas Countdown

By Jamie Oliver

Tap For Method

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic
50 g unsalted butter
50 g plain flour
600 ml semi-skimmed milk
500 g broccoli
75 g mature Cheddar cheese
1 kg cauliflower
2 slices of ciabatta or stale bread
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
olive oil
25 g flaked almonds

Tap For Method

Jamie's Easy Christmas Countdown

By Jamie Oliver

Tap For Ingredients

Method

GET AHEAD
1. To make the sauce, peel and finely slice the garlic and put it into a pan on a medium heat with the butter.
2. When the butter has melted, stir in the flour for 1 minute to make a paste, then gradually add the milk, whisking as you go, until smooth and starting to thicken.
3. Roughly chop and add the broccoli to the pan and simmer for around 20 minutes, then mash or blitz with a stick blender until fairly smooth.
4. Grate in half the Cheddar, mix well, taste, and season to perfection.
5. Snap off and wash the cauliflower leaves, discarding any tatty ones, then cut the centre into florets, slicing up the stalk.
6. Arrange it all in an appropriately sized baking dish, letting any leaves hang beautifully over the edge.
7. Pour over the broccoli sauce and grate over the remaining Cheddar.
8. In a food processor, blitz the bread and thyme leaves into rough crumbs with 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then pulse in the almonds so they retain a nice bit of texture. Scatter the topping evenly over the cauliflower cheese. Cover and pop in the fridge.

ON THE DAY
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
2. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden and cooked through, then enjoy!

Tips

It’s good fun to play around with different cheeses in this dish and see how they taste and melt, so this is a great one for using up any leftovers from your Christmas cheeseboard. It’s also nice to try different veg instead of cauliflower – for instance, 2–3cm chunks of celeriac, squash, potatoes or leeks would all work a treat. Just remember, some veg might take longer to cook than others, so test with a knife to check they’re cooked through before serving.

Jamie's Easy Christmas Countdown

By Jamie Oliver