As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, having noticed that the number of sachets of seasoning and jars of sauce in my food cupboard was getting out of hand, I set myself a personal challenge to use up as many as possible. I must admit, I scratched my head when I pulled out this packet of Bread Sauce mix. What are you supposed to do with bread sauce ? Well, according to Nigella Lawson (but I doubt very much that hers comes out of a packet !), it's great with Christmas dinner and is just as good cold with leftovers. Hmm I'll take her word for it - that doesn't appeal to me at all !
I followed the instructions, mixed it up with milk and brought it to the boil then left it to cool and thicken and had a tentative taste. It's not bad actually - a bit bland but basically like a cheese sauce without the cheesiness, if that makes sense !
In fact, I decided to throw in some cheese and use it as I would a cheese sauce. The question was, which vegetable would I use - broccoli or cauliflower? How about both, and I'll call it Bro-cauli (get it?!). Here's the very loose recipe, but it can be changed depending on your tastes and what you have in the fridge.
Bro-Cauli Cheese
ingredients :
1 head of broccoli
1/2 caulilower
1 packet of bread sauce or cheese sauce mix, or even better, make your own - it's dead easy
milk (to make the sauce)
1 onion
a handful of mushrooms
200g bacon lardons
200g grated cheddar
generous sprinkling of parmesan
Chop the broccoli and cauliflower into large florets and boil in salted water for 7 minutes until almost cooked but still firm. Drain and put to one side.
In a frying pan, fry the bacon until it releases some fat then add the mushrooms and onions. Fry gently for 10 minutes, drain off the excess fat and reserve.
Make up the bread/cheese sauce in a large pan following instructions. (Stir in some grated cheese, if using bread sauce.) Turn off the heat and add the cooked broccoli and cauliflower. Toss gently to cover all the vegetables in sauce.
Add the bacon/mushrooms/onions, gently toss to mix everything up then pour into an ovenproof dish.
Sprinkle with grated cheddar and parmesan and put in the oven at 180° for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
This can be eaten as a meal in itself or as a vegetable accompaniment with meat or fish.
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I never thought of adding bacon and mushrooms to cauliflower and brocolli cheese! Sounds great!
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