Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Bake

So, you've eaten most of the meat in the fridge before it goes bad, and now you have a cauliflower sitting there in the crisper, judging you, wondering when it gets a chance to shine.

This is a quick midweek dinner, and adds some delicious veggies to this rich pasta bake. It's filling, creamy and goooood. Think of a cross between cauliflower cheese and mac and cheese. Cheese is a great common denominator.

Now, it's vegetarian as a base recipe, unless you go and add bacon (which I did). I cooked the bacon in the oven and then added the sliced bits in at the end. But it would be perfectly lovely without that.

serves 2 with leftovers

Ingredients

• 1 small or ½ large cauliflower, florets cut small
• 150g dried pasta
• 25g butter
• 2 heaped tsp plain flour
• 300ml milk
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Half a bunch of spring onions, diced
• A few handfuls of grated cheddar
• 2 handfuls of grated mozzarella
• *Optional – cooked bacon, sliced

Method

Bring 2 pans of salted water to a boil – add cauliflower to one and pasta to the other. Cook the cauli until softened, about 7 minutes. Boil the pasta according to package instructions. Once both are done, drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

In another pan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour briskly and take off the heat. Slowly whisk in the milk and then put back on the heat. Mix in the paprika and Worcestershire sauce and heat gently until thickened.

Once it begins to thicken, throw in the spring onions, cheddar and 1 handful of mozzarella. Mix and stir until thick and combined. Add in the cooked cauliflower and pasta and mix well. You can add the bacon here too if using.

Place in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the mozzarella.

Pre-cheese

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden on top and bubbling. Serve up!