| Cook the pasta | |
450g dried macaroni, or fusilli pasta. |
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. |
| Make the sauce in a large pan, then blend | |
40g unsalted butter 1 large leek 3 cloves of garlic 400g purple sprouting or tenderstem broccoli 1/2 a bunch of fresh thyme |
Trim, halve and wash the leek and peel the garlic, then finely slice with the broccoli stalks, reserving the florets for later. Place the sliced veg in the pan over a medium heat with the butter, then strip in the thyme leaves and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. |
2 tablespoons plain flour 1 litre semi-skimmed milk |
Stir in the flour, followed slowly by the milk, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring regularly. |
30g Parmesan cheese 150g mature Cheddar cheese 100g baby spinach |
Grate the Parmesan and most of the Cheddar into the sauce, and mix well. Tip into a blender, add the spinach and whiz until smooth - you may need to work in batches. |
| Combine in a 25cm x 35cm baking dish | |
Above blended mixture Sea salt Black pepper Above cooked pasta reserved Brocolli florets 50g flaked almonds |
Season with the sea salt and black pepper, then stir in the pasta and broccoli florets, loosening with a splash of milk, if needed . Transfer to the baking dish, grate over the remaining cheddar and scatter over the almonds. Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C, or until beautifully golden and bubbling. |
Swap spinach for any kind of fresh or frozen greens, discarding any tough stalks. You could also add breadcrumbs to the top for bonus crunch |
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