Nigel Barden serves up the perfect cauliflower cheese dish for students on Radio 2 Drivetime with Simon Mayo.
Nigel says: “This is a delicious and nutritious dish that works out at between 75p – £1 per portion. It is not a complicated dish but it should be made with care in order to get the cauliflower to the right texture.”
The ingredients are: 50g unsalted butter, 25g plain flour, 300ml milk, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp English mustard powder, 100g Lancashire cheese, grated, 1 medium cauliflower, leaves removed, broken into evenly sized florets and 30g breadcrumbs.
To prepare the dish, preheat the oven to 200C.
Melt the butter in a medium pan and stir in the flour to make a roux.
Cook on a low heat for a couple of mins, stirring occasionally, but do not allow to colour.
Pour a little of the milk into the roux, then whisk to combine. Gradually add the rest in the same manner until you have a smooth liquid.
Cook stirring regularly until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from the heat, add the salt, mustard powder and half the cheese, and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the cauliflower in a pan of salted, boiling water for 3 mins, until softened, but not cooked through.
Drain the cauliflower and tip into a buttered baking dish.
Tip over the sauce, then mix together the breadcrumbs and the rest of the cheese and scatter over the top. Bake for about 30 mins, or until golden and bubbling.