Cauliflower and broccoli cheese bake

I have been wanting to make cauliflower cheese for weeks now and finally got around to it this week. I haven’t eaten it for years, probably since before I moved to Indonesia, so cooking this delicious comfort food was long overdue.

You can make it with just cauliflower or mix it with broccoli like I did and add a few other simple ingredients to make a meal out of it.

Bubbling cauliflower and broccoli bake.

I love a creamy cheesy white sauce (who doesn’t hey?) and this is super easy and quick to make. I decided to have it as the main dish rather than a side dish so thought it would be fun to cook in gorgeous individual baking dishes (my ones are lime green like most of my favorite cooking gadgets are). You can of course cook it in one larger dish and serve it at the table straight from the oven. I enjoyed it with crusty bread for mopping up the cheese sauce and also a leafy green salad. It was heavenly, but would be just a lovely as a side dish served with roast chicken or pork chops for all you carnivores.

Ingredients

1 medium head of cauliflower chopped up into pieces

1 medium head of broccoli chopped into pieces

Seasoning

20 g of butter

2 tbsp of flour

1 ½ cups of milk

1 cup of grated cheese (cheddar is perfect for this)

¼ onion sliced as thinly as you can

1 clove of minced garlic

3 or 4 tbsp bread crumbs

Enough grated cheese to sprinkle on the top ( I used a mix of cheddar and Parmesan approx 3 tbsp)

Partly cooked cauliflower and broccoli

Grated cheddar.

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the cauliflower and broccoli. Bring back to the boil and once boiling cook for 2-3 mins just (don’t overcook as the veggies will continue to cook in the oven). Drain and place in whatever baking dish you are using with the onion and garlic mixed through too (no need to cook these).

Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour and cook, stirring continuously for another minute. Add the milk and over a medium heat keep stirring until the sauce is thickened and smooth. Remove the sauce from the heat, season and add the cup of grated cheese and keep stirring until the cheese has melted.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, the extra cheese and seasoning. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until it is golden on top and bubbling. 

White sauce

Cheese added to the white sauce

Broccoli and cauliflower in the baking dishes

Breadcrumbs added on top of the veggies and cheese sauce

An extra sprinkling of cheese on top and ready for the oven

Serve as a side or main dish with crusty bread for mopping up the delicious cheesy sauce. I love a few splashes of Worcester sauce on my cauliflower and broccoli cheese bake, it goes beautifully with the cheese sauce (just as it does with mac ‘n cheese too).

Golden and still bubbling from the oven

Ready to eat

Enjoy this tasty old classic revamped with a few extras!