The best cauliflower & broccoli cheese

I'd like to make this for Christmas dinner. Would it work to make it in advance and have it ready to go in the fridge or do you think it would get soggy in the waiting? Many thanks, Olivia

We would suggest making the broccoli white sauce in advance and keeping it in the fridge until you start you christmas dinner, chop and add your cauliflower to your baking dish and cover with sauce before baking for an hour. Enjoy! x

Very wise! Thank you so kindly for your time - I really appreciate it. :0)

Got this recipe from Jamie´s \"Save with Jamie\" (absolutely love this book). Really is THE BEST cauliflower & brocolli cheese!

Never mind making this as a side dish, this is a really good meal in itself. A family favourite here.

Just 1 observation.

I find that cooking the broccoli in the white sauce leads to it thickening so much that I need to add about 200ml more milk over the course of cooking it, just to avoid it catching.

I prefer to boil the broccoli separately in water, then drain and add to the white sauce, then blitz and proceed as directed.

Just my two pence worth!

I cooked the broccoli in the milk then strained the milk off to make the sauce and then put the cooked broccoli into the sauce.

I didn't care for broccoli before doing this - the sauce is fantastic!

Thanks for the tip, unfortunately I didn't read it before cooking. Mine caught. I managed to salvage most then made more basic roux ,added more cheese and poured it over the cauliflower along with the salvaged broccoli sauce. I also partly cooked both the broccoli and the cauliflower in the microwave as was pushed for time after messing up the first sauce. Now in the oven and hoping it will be ok!

I just tried it for dinner as I was trying to use up veggies I already had. I didn't have exact proportions but made it work and it turned out really good. I loved it!

Sorry I did not like this at all, I followed the recipe to the letter. We didn't like the taste of garlic in the sauce or the texture of the broccoli mushed up and mixed with the sauce. I always make my cauliflower cheese with broccoli, but lightly steamed and kept in florets like the cauliflower, the topping was soggy under the very top layer which gave it a bread sauce texture. Back to traditional method of cooking cauliflower and broccoli cheese for me.

Loved it! I actually made it with almond flour as I am diabetic and used grated mixed nuts to go on top instead of breadcrumbs. It came out very well, and tasted fabulous. I also processed the raw broccoli before even adding it to the mixture which made a huge diffenerence to the cheese sauce. Highly recommend it! Great recipe.

Loved it. Didnt eat it as a side dish, just made some more and had a meatless day ;) I did have to add some more milk to the sauce. Next time i might do it Duncan's way.

Made this for Christmas dinner and family were like 'did YOU make that cauliflower cheese? It was soo good'. '. Loved the almonds crust on top, added a whole new texture level. I didn't do broc as I wanted it to be classic so did all cauliflower and used about 2kg so I could make a big one. Also did about 200gms of vintage cheese (100 in sauce, 100 on top) as it was a special occasion so wanted magical cheese sharp flavour to pack some delicious punch).

Absolutely great blending cauliflower into the sauce, so much more body and flavour. Yum, just awesome. I spread the word that it was the JO genius.

How far in advance can I make the sauce? And I too would like to confirm that I can put the cauliflower in the oven raw?

Many Thanks

Don't understand why you need to blitz broccoli. It's great as it is and should be celebrated as florets beside the cauliflower.

Because some people don't like chunks of broccoli and this is a great way of getting them to eat it.

With such people I'd generally distract them into thinking that the food is a choo-choo and their mouth is the tunnel.

Seriously? As an adult who is a vegetarian but doesn't happen to like broccoli very much, I find the choo choo method to be a bit, how shall I put this, ineffective. I don't like the taste of if, it's too grassy. I love sprouts though, no choo choo method required there.

I was imagining a creamy cheesy sauce enveloping the florets but it resembled a curdled cheese sauce with a watery bottom...have I done something wrong or should it be like this??

Can you freeze this?

We wouldn't advise to Joy, the veggies won't be at their best but you could definitely make the white sauce in advance and keep it in the fridge ready to mix up with your fresh vegetables. x

I've never tasted/cooked cauliflower cheese(because I used to hate cauliflower and broccoli), but since I saw it in your show I've been in love with this recipe and I'll finally buy the ingredientes and make it. Thanks Jamie and congrats from Brazil!!!

I notice that this is listed as a side. What are some typical foods to serve with this casserole?

Absolutely fantastic!!

The cauliflower goes into the oven raw or should I boil it first?

to make this a deluxe dish put savoury meringue on the top and make holes in the meringue and place 2 raw eggs then grill...I guarantee with the meringue and the baked eggs takes it to a whole new level..

This was delicious! I made it GF by using sorghum flour in the broccoli sauce and cornflake crumbs in the topping. I also sprinkled the raw cauliflower with nutritional yeast for a little added flavour, before topping with sauce etc. Thanks for another winner, Jamie!

can I make the panatone pudding in advance?

use a cats head instead. Nom nom!

Only 75g of cheese and 500ml of milk for 1.5 kilos of veg. That cant be right!

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

Peel and finely slice the garlic and put it into a medium pan on a medium heat with the butter.

When the butter has melted, stir in the flour for a minute to make a paste, then gradually add the milk, whisking as you go, until lovely and smooth.

Add the broccoli (cut up first, if using fresh) and simmer for around 20 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked through and starts to break down, then mash or blitz with a stick blender (adding an extra splash of milk to loosen, if using fresh broccoli). Grate in half the Cheddar and season to perfection.

Arrange the cauliflower in an appropriately sized baking dish (cut into florets first, if using fresh), pour over the broccoli white sauce and grate over the remaining Cheddar.

Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs in a food processor, then pulse in the thyme leaves and almonds. Toss with a lug of oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, then scatter evenly over the cauliflower cheese.

Bake for 1 hour, or until golden and cooked through, then enjoy!

Tips

It’s really good fun to play around with different cheeses in this dish and how they taste and melt. It’s also nice to try different veg instead of cauliflower – for instance, 2–3cm chunks of celeriac, squash, potatoes or leeks would all work a treat. Have a play and see what your favourites are – some veg might take longer to cook than others, so test with a knife to check they’re cooked through before serving.

Original article and pictures take http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-cauliflower-broccoli-cheese site