Greens mac 'n' cheese
Leek, broccoli & spinach, toasted almond topping
Greens mac 'n' cheese
Nutrition per serving
Veg
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
Veg
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.
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.
Veg
