Recipe
Cheesy pasta bake with roasted cauliflower, broccoli and peas, garlic pangrattato, garlic parsley pesto
This pasta bake let the humble cauliflower and broccoli take centre stage. Roasting the veg avoided overcooking and brought an extra depth of flavour and texture. Some extra cauliflower purée hiding in the cheese sauce was a clever and easy way to pack more veg in. With the crispy breadcrumb topping and a punchy pesto, this dish got a ton of praise.
Illustration by Lauren Pollard, Llanelli
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 1 medium sized head of broccoli, cut into bite sized florets
- 1 medium sized head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
- 1 small-medium red onion, peeled & sliced
- 300g penne, (or short cut pasta of choice)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 480ml milk, at room temp
- 240ml vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp mustard (dijon or wholegrain both work well)
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 200g / cheddar, grated. You can combine with another hard cheese of your choice.
- A handful of breadcrumbs to top (or make a pangrattato as below)
- 2 slices stale bread, crusts removed
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 lemon, zested
- Salt and pepper
- 1 large handful of herbs (parsley or basil)
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 handful grated hard cheese eg. parmesan (optional)
- 1 handful of nuts or seeds (pine, nuts, walnuts or sunflower seeds work well)
- Olive oil
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Setting aside one handful of cauliflower, add all the broccoli and most of the cauliflower to a baking dish with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Use your hands or a spoon to toss in oil until evenly coated.
- Roast in the oven for 15-20mins, stirring halfway, until the broccoli and cauliflower is lightly charred and tender when prodded with a fork. You can leave this to sit while you make the sauce.
- Place the pasta in salted boiling water and cook until al dente – with a bit of a bite. Add the reserved handful of cauliflower in with the pasta. Drain in a colander and separate out the cauliflower.
- Whizz up the boiled cauliflower with a stick blender or food processor until smooth with a dash of olive oil.
- For the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a large deep pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes to form a ‘roux’, then pour in milk a little at a time, whisking as you go to avoid lumps.
- Whisk in veg stock then simmer for a few mins, or until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Stir in the mustard, nutmeg and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then add in the whole roasted veg and the puréed cauliflower.
- Stir in the cheese until it melts, then stir in the drained pasta.
- Pour everything back into the baking dish and level off with a wooden spoon.
- Top with the pangrattato as below.
- Bake in the oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes until the top is crisp and golden.
- Blitz the bread in a food processor to coarse crumbs.
- Warm 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan on a low to medium heat, add the garlic and stir for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the breadcrumbs.
- Fry over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until golden and crisp.
- Remove from heat, stirring in chilli flakes (optional), lemon zest, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Wash and dry the parsley (or herb of choice). Remove any thick stems.
- Whizz the parsley with one clove of garlic and nuts or seeds in a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely chopped.
- Add grated cheese, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper.
- With the blender running slowly, drizzle in olive oil gradually until the pesto is smooth and creamy.
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