Macaroni cauliflower cheese

Cut the cauliflower into florets and lightly blanched in salted boiling water. Strain and leave aside. Keep 2 mugs of the water to use in the sauce.
Add more hot water and 1 tsp oil to cook the macaroni.







To make the sauce

Melt a knob of butter with a little cooking oil in the saucepan over a very low fire.






When the butter has melted add in 3 dessert spoonful of plain flour and mix thoroughly with the butter, stirring constantly










Slowly add in 2 mugs of milk a little at a time whilst stirring constantly to dissolve the lumps






Alternate pouring in the milk with the water used for blanching the cauliflower.
I use the water to reduce the creaminess of the milk so that it is not so fattening plus the water contains Vitamin C from the cauliflower







Keep on stirring until the sauce is smooth and not too thick. Add salt, black and white pepper, mixed herbs and 3-4 bay leaves








Grate a block of cheddar cheese









Add the cheese to the sauce, stirring until the cheese has completely melted. Add sliced ham or bacon if you like to give it a nicer taste.







Most recipes say to pour the sauce over the macaroni but I prefer to put the cauliflower and macaroni into the sauce so that they are thoroughly coated with the sauce.







Spoon the mixture into baking dishes










Sprinkle some grated cheese on top. I like to use a different flavoured cheese like mozzarella to give it a varied cheese taste and flavour






Sprinkle some red chilli powder on the top to give it a nice colour










Bake in an oven for 10 minutes or place under a grill to brown the cheese topping.




Eat on its own or with a light salad.