Broccoli & Cauliflower Mac & Cheese for two

 

I don't know about you, but I consider Macaroni and Cheese to be the ultimate in comfort foods. Todd would disagree, as he is not overly fond of pasta of any kind, but the carb lover in me just needs to have some pasta every now and then, and of all the pastas on the earth Macaroni and Cheese is my favourite indulgence.

 

Interestingly enough, it wasn't something that I really remember my mother making when I was growing up. Occasionally we might have Kraft Dinner Mac & Cheese, but that was considered a treat.  If mom cooked pasta at all it was spaghetti, which my father love, LOVED and still does.

 

She would brown a pound of ground beef in a skillet and add a can of Catelli spaghetti sauce and call it Italian Spaghetti.  Served with the plastic green can of  grated cheese that was about as foreign as my family got when it came to dinner cuisine!

 

My children always loved it when I made them Macaroni and Cheese.  Its a pretty economical way to feed a large family, depending on the cheese you use for it.  When I first moved over here to Chester, there was a cheese monger at the Indoor Market in town who sold bags of cheese crumbs for 50p.  I used to buy two or three each time I went in, specifically for use in cooking.

  

You were never quite sure what kind they were, but they always went great in a cheese sauce!    I will be honest and up front here . . .  I never stint on the amount of cheese I put in a cheese sauce.  I think you should be able to full on taste it . . .  not just hint at it.  That's me . . . full on everything.

 

I also love cauliflower cheese and broccoli cheese. Yes I confess when my children were growing up, I was one of those moms who spooned heated Cheese Whiz over their broccoli to get them to eat it. Nobody complained.  It was simple and it was easy.

 

Adding broccoli and caulifower to macaroni and cheese is a great way to cut back on the carbs and to increase your intake of your five a day, and its incredibly delicious to boot!

 

It doesn't really involve any extra work, or more work than making ordinary mac and cheese and its a bit healthier.  At least I think it is.

 

I just throw the vegetable in with the macaroni during the last few minutes of its cook time. I cut them into rather smallish florets, about 1 inch in size, and they don't need much more than a few minutes to become crispy tender.

 

They add lots of interest to the dish, plenty of flavour and additional colour and texture.

 

Actually there are quite a few vegetables that go well in macaroni and cheese.  Leeks (I sautee them for a few minutes first), cooked peas and carrots, shredded cabbage or brussels sprouts (again lightly sauteed or blanched),  Kale (once again, blanche first), Swiss chard, spinach, tomatoes, etc. 

  

All are very tasty and I can honestly say I have never had anyone turn their nose up at any of them.

 

I like to use a strong cheddar for flavour and of course some mustard also adds a bit of a punch to the sauce.  You could use hot sauce in its place if you wanted to.  I am particularly fond of the Green Tabasco sauce.  I could eat that up with a spoon.

  

And of course I always top with some bread crumbs, crushed crackers, crushed cereal or stale chips and cheese.  Casseroles with crunchy toppings are one of my favourite things!! You don't need much on the side with this. I like to serve it with pickled beetroot and some buttered brown bread. Yummy!

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Broccoli & Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

Rich and delicious, filled with several of your five a day and perfectly sized for two. I like to serve this with pickled beets and some buttered fresh brown bread.

ingredients:

For the cheese sauce:

• 250g whole milk (1 generous cup)
• 1 whole dried clove
• 1 dried bay leaf, broken in two
• 1 1/2 TBS butter
• 1 1/2 TBS flour
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• 60ml double cream (1/4 cup)
• 75g grated strong cheddar cheese (2/3 cup)
• 2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese

You will also need:

• 115g dry macaroni (1 cup or 4 ounces)
• 325g cauliflower florets (1 cup)
• 325g broccoli florets (1 cup)
• 60g grated strong cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
• a couple TBS of either cracker crumbs or potato chip crumbs

instructions:

How to cook Broccoli & Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

1. First make the sauce. Add the clove and bayleaf to the milk. Bring just to the boil, then set aside to infuse for about 15 minutes. Remove the clove and bay leaf and discard.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan until it begins to foam. Whisk in the flour and allow it to cook for a vew minutes until it starts to smell a bit nutty. Pour in the milk slowly, whisking continuously until the mixure has thickened nicely. Whisk in the cheese and allow it to melt. Whisk in the cream and Dijon mustard. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Set aside. 
3. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Butter a shallow casserole dish about 7 by 11 inches in size.
4. Cook the dry macaroni in a pot of lightly salted water according to the package directions, adding the broccoli and cauliflower florets for the last 2 to 3 minutes of cook time.  Drain everything well, then stir into the cheese sauce.  Pour the whole lot into the prepared casserole dish. 
5. Mix together the cheeses and crumbs/chips for the topping and sprinkle evenly over top of the macaroni and cheese.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown.  Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

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I dare say I love this even more than regular mac and cheese.  Its fabulously delicious!  I have simple tastes . . .  A simple salad also goes very well on the side.

I am fed up to the eyeballs with rain.  Its that time of year!  Not really cold, except for the wind, but the rain . . .  its starting to get to me.

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Cabbage, Cheese & Mustard Gratin for two

  

I found myself with a half of a white cabbage in my refrigerator that I wanted to use up but I didn't feel like making a coleslaw or anything like that. I wanted something comforting and delicious.  Todd's not fond of coleslaw.  He doesn't like eating anything that has hard vegetables in it.

 

In North America you might not be entirely familiar with the term white cabbage  . . .   

 

Its just a cabbage . . .  I had never heard of it being called white cabbage before moving over here to the UK.  We only had a few varieties of cabbage back home where I am from.  This type, which we just called cabbage, red cabbage and savoy or crinkly cabbage, and oh yes . . . chinese cabbage.

 

I was quite surprised when I saw all of the different cabbages that are available here in the UK.  There is a pointed type which has a large round end and is rather elongated, tapering to a point.  This is called Sweetheart Cabbage.

  

January King, which becomes available in January has dapples of purple and a somewhat turquoise tinge to it and then the savoy which is quite crinkly leaved . . .  with dark green outer leaves, becoming pale green as you get near the centre.

 

Spring greens which is kind of like a loosely leafed cabbage, which are like loosely leafed cabbage, usually bought cut into strips and ready to saute or steam at home.

 

I could go on and on, but I won't.  My cabbage that I used today was a white cabbage. It is my favourite of all the cabbages.  I love it raw in salads and I love it cooked.

 

It is beautiful shredded and then sauteed in butter with a bit of sugar, salt and pepper.  I like to toss the shreds with buttered noodles  . . .

 

I love it fermented as sauerkraut . . .  so good and very good for you.  Today I did a gratin using a half a white cabbage.  Sized for two people.

 

I was inspired by a recipe by Nigel Slater from his Green Tender Book, 1.  His recipe served 4 and involved a whole cabbage. I had half a cabbage and so I cut the recipe in half and in all truth, half of the recipe would probably serve four.  It is that generous.

  

Cut it through the core, so that the wedges stay intact. I am one of those people who are quite fond of the cooked core of cabbage so long as it isn't woody.

 

You will need to pre-cook the cabbage for a time in some boiling salted water.  He suggested only a few  minutes, but I think it takes a bit longer than that.  Perhaps my pieces where thicker than his. I would simmer it for 4 to 5 minutes and then drain it really well. 

 

You then make a simple cheese bechamel sauce.  He mentioned mustard in the title of his recipe, but there was no mention of it in the recipe.  I do make a ham and mac casserole that has mustard in the sauce, and thought it would go well with cabbage and so I added a tablespoon of Dijon mustard.

 

This added a fabulous flavour!  It really perked it up.  I also used a strong cheddar cheese.

  

He just sprinkled bread crumbs on the top.  I wasn't sure about that.  If I did use bread crumbs I would add a touch of butter to them.  I used crushed crackers mixed with a bit of butter instead with most delicious results!

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Cabbage, Cheese & Mustard Gratin for two

Rich and delicious this is a wonderful way to serve white cabbage.  Inspired by Nigel Slater from his Book Tender 1.

ingredients:

• 250ml whole milk (1 generous cup)
• 1 whole clove
• 1 dried bay leaf, broken
• 1 1/2 TBS butter
• 1 1/2 TBS flour
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• 60ml double cream (1/4 cup)
• 75g grated strong cheddar cheese (2/3 cup)
• 1/2 medium sized white cabbage
• 1/2 TBS melted butter
• 8 round crackers, crumbled

instructions:

How to cook Cabbage, Cheese & Mustard Gratin for two

1. Add the clove and bayleaf to the milk. Bring just to the boil, then set aside to infuse for about 15 minutes. Remove the clove and bay leaf and discard.
2. Cut your cabbage into 4 thick wedges, keeping them intact via the core.
3. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the cabbage wedges and bring back to the boil. Boil for several minutes, then drain very well. Set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a saucepan until it begins to foam. Whisk in the flour and allow it to cook for a vew minutes until it starts to smell a bit nutty. Pour in the milk slowly, whisking continuously until the mixure has thickened nicely. Whisk in the cheese and allow it to melt. Whisk in the cream and Dijon mustard. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
5. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the cabbage and lay the cabbage wedges into it. Pour the cheese sauce over all. Mix together the cracker crumbs and butter and scatter over top.
6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown and a the tip of a knife slides easily into the cabbage.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

His only took 45 minutes max to cook, but mine took about 15 minutes longer.  I wanted to be able to insert a knife easily into it. Like I said Todd doesn't like hard vegetables and cabbage is one of those vegetables that really benefits from a long slow cooking, which almost turns it buttery.  This was just perfect.   

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