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Greens mac 'n' cheese
Leek, broccoli & spinach, toasted almond topping
Greens mac 'n' cheese
Serves 6
Cooks In1 hour
DifficultyNot too tricky
Nutrition per serving
Veg
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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.
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
Swap spinach out for any kind of exciting fresh or frozen greens, discarding any tough stalks. I also sometimes add breadcrumbs to the top for bonus crunch. Tasty!
To make vegetarian: swap Parmesan for vegetarian hard cheese.
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