Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese

Having cauliflower cheese growing up was looked forward to with much anticipation & the odd bit of drool. The dish follows the fabulous logic, being that if you take a vegetable, drown it in cheesiness - then BOOM, it's going to be bloomin' brilliant! I had my doubt as to whether this would be flavourful enough, but it most certainly is, plus it tastes like the real deal. I even fed it to my grandparents, to whom lentils are quite out there - and they didn't bat an eye lid despite it missing the dairy & the regular flour. Hoorah!

Ingredients

• 1 large head of broccoli, chopped into large florets
• 1/2 a large cauliflower, chopped into large florets
• olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 heaped tsp minced garlic
• 1 heaped tbsp vegan butter
• 2 tbsp GF plain flour (or regular plain flour)
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk (or oat milk if not GF)
• 1 cup loosely packed vegan cheese shreds
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• pinch nutmeg
• salt & pepper
• large handful vegan cheese shreds to top

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200C.
2. Place your broccoli & cauliflower florets into a large pot and add a sufficient amount of boiling water, then boil them for 2-4 minutes or until only PAR-boiled. They will finish cooking in the oven. Drain & place your florets into an oven safe dish.
3. In a medium non-stick pot, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add in the flour and stir for a minute or two, so the flour cooks slightly.
4. Add the milk in small increments at first, and then in large increments until all the milk is added. A whisk works best for this process. You want to stir really well so there are minimal lumps. The GF flour will leave your white sauce a little courser then you would otherwise expect, but I promise once you put it all in the oven, everything will marry together and taste like the original. Once all the milk has been added, take off the heat and add your cheese shreds. Mix together for a minute or two (the cheese shreds will melt only slightly, don't worry they'll continue melting in the oven), then add your coconut milk, nutmeg, salt & pepper.
5. Pour (or rather plop - don't worry if it's a little thick, it thins out in the oven, due to all the moisture in the veg) the sauce over the veg, poking it down the odd nook & cranny. Drizzle over a little olive oil and top with the handful of vegan cheese.
6. Bake in the pre-heated oven (no need to cover it) for 20 minutes, then switch to the grill setting for 5 more minutes. Serve up my friend, so insanely good!