CAULIFLOWER AND CREAM CHEESE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Tear the bread into a food processor. Peel and add the garlic, then tear in any nice leaves from your cauliflower. Add ½ a tablespoon of olive oil, blitz into fairly fine crumbs, then tip into a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Cook for 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp, stirring occasionally.
  2. Meanwhile, peel the onion, then roughly chop with the cauliflower, stalk and all.
  3. Tip the crispy crumbs into a bowl, returning the pan to the heat. Pour in the milk and add the chopped veg, bring just to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer.
  4. Alongside, cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Just before the pasta is ready, carefully pour the cauliflower mixture into the processor (there’s no need to wash it), grate in the cheese, blitz until super smooth, then season to perfection, and return to the pan. Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water.
  5. Toss the pasta through the sauce, loosening with a splash of reserved cooking water, if needed, then serve with the crispy crumbs, for sprinkling.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Put the cauliflower florets into a bowl and toss with the olive oil and plenty of seasoning. Tip out onto a large baking tray, ensuring each floret has space around it. Roast for 20-25 minutes until lightly charred and tender to the point of a knife. Cool slightly. Turn down the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
• Put the butter into a pan over a medium heat and, once melted and foaming, add the plain flour. Cook, while stirring, for 5 minutes until the butter turns a deep golden brown. Put the milk and cream into a measuring jug.
• Turn the heat to low and splash in a few tbsp of the milk mixture and whisk vigorously. It will form a thick paste that might look a little split but will come back together eventually. Keep adding the milk, 2-3 tbsp at a time, whisking vigorously all the time, only adding more milk once fully absorbed and the sauce is thick. Once all of the milk and cream are in, you will have a smooth sauce. Simmer gently, while regularly whisking, for 15 minutes to cook out the flour and thicken the sauce some more. Remove from the heat and stir through the cheddar, grate in the nutmeg and season well.
• Put the cauliflower florets into a deep baking dish then pour over the sauce. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is charred, bubbling and golden.