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Easy cauliflower macaroni cheese

Name: Easy cauliflower macaroni cheese
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 1 cauliflower, cut into florets, leaves reserved, any thick stems halved lengthways; 250g macaroni or other short pasta; 25g butter; 1 garlic clove, crushed; 25g plain flour; 600ml semi-skimmed milk, gently warmed; 2 tsp English mustard; 50g cheddar, grated; Sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg; 50g camembert, sliced

Published: 16 Mar 17
Updated: 18 Mar 24

We’ve swapped half the pasta for cauliflower to lower the calories in this easy dinner recipe, plus using camembert means the fat content is lower but the sauce is even more cheesy.

Easy
February 2017

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 20 min

We’ve swapped half the pasta for cauliflower to lower the calories in this easy dinner recipe, plus using camembert means the fat content is lower but the sauce is even more cheesy.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 527kcals
Fat: 17.1g (9.8g saturated)
Protein: 24.5g
Carbohydrates: 65.3g (13.8g sugars)
Fibre: 7g
Salt: 0.9g

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Ingredients

1 cauliflower, cut into florets, leaves reserved, any thick stems halved lengthways
250g macaroni or other short pasta
25g butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
25g plain flour
600ml semi-skimmed milk, gently warmed
2 tsp English mustard
50g cheddar, grated
Sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg
50g camembert, sliced

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Method

Cook all the cauliflower in a large pan of salted boiling water for 8-10 minutes until the florets are tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the florets to a plate and cook the thick stems for 4-5 minutes longer. Drain.
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions until just al dente, then drain and set aside. Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5.
Meanwhile, melt the butter with the garlic in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the flour and mix to a paste with a wooden spoon. Cook for 2-3 minutes until it starts to smell biscuity, then slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, and simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – about 5 minutes. Add the mustard, grated cheddar and nutmeg with a good pinch of salt and pepper and mix in with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Add the cauliflower and cooked pasta to the sauce and mix until well coated, then pour into the baking dish and poke the camembert slices into the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Recipe from February 2017 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 527kcals
Fat: 17.1g (9.8g saturated)
Protein: 24.5g
Carbohydrates: 65.3g (13.8g sugars)
Fibre: 7g
Salt: 0.9g

delicious. tips

If you’re pushed for time, cooking a 400g bag of fresh pasta for 2 minutes in the cauliflower water in step 1.

Using cauliflower meant we could halve the quantity of pasta, reducing calories. We replaced half the cheddar with camembert, which lowers the fat content while still keeping the cheesiness.