Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Greens

This is brilliant for feeding the masses. It’s filling, comforting and all baked in one dish. You can add extras, such as spinach or onions. I’ve piled leafy broccoli on top of the bake so you don’t need to wash up another vessel. Swap ins: Use any pasta you like. Swap in parsley or a medley of herbs for the basil, shallots instead of spring onions/scallions and try different cheeses and greens. Leftovers: Great simply reheated in the oven, served up with fresh greens or salad. Serves 4–6. Time 1 hour

400g dried macaroni 30g fresh basil, torn 3 spring onions/scallions,

trimmed, finely sliced 1 tsp garlic granules 3 tbsp Dijon mustard 2 tbsp grainy mustard 100g mature Cheddar,

grated

100g Parmesan, grated

60g stick butter

½ cup plain/all-purpose flour 800ml whole milk, chilled 180g purple-sprouting

broccoli sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper olive oil, for drizzling salad leaves, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200ºC fan/220ºC/Gas 7.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the macaroni and boil for 7 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water, return to the pan and set aside.

Add the basil and spring onions/scallions to a bowl with the garlic and both mustards and then add the Cheddar and 75g of the Parmesan. Set aside.

To make a roux, melt the butter in a medium saucepan and, once melted, bubble for 30 seconds. Add the flour to the pan and mix well for 2 minutes, letting the flour ‘cook out’ over a medium heat, but avoid browning. Add a splash of the chilled milk to the pan and mix well. When the milk has been absorbed, add another splash and then continue the process a few times over. Once the roux is loose, having added a good few sloshes of milk, add the remaining milk and continue to stir over a low heat until a thick sauce has developed. It might feel like the sauce isn’t going to thicken, but it will, so persevere. It should take about 5 minutes once all the milk has been added.

Once the sauce has become thick, remove from the heat and add the mustards, garlic, basil, spring onions/ scallions, cheeses and some black pepper. Mix well to combine and adjust the seasoning to taste. Pour the sauce over the macaroni and mix to well combine. Transfer to a 2 litre baking dish and sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan. Put on the top shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

Meanwhile, halve any thick broccoli stems lengthways, add to a mixing bowl and toss in a little olive oil and seasoning.

Remove the mac ‘n’ cheese from the oven, put the broccoli on top, in a fanning circle or, if your dish is square, lay them out in a single-layered row. Return to the oven on the top shelf and bake for a further 10 minutes. Serve immediately with salad leaves.