This is my go to comfort dinner, I love cauliflower cheese and treat as a meal on its own tho I do like a gammon steak with it sometimes to. I pimped it up by adding some black pudding and some chestnuts and sage to the breadcrumbs. Its just so tasty! If you don’t like black pudding you could add some cooked sausage or bacon.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 small cauliflower head, cut into florets
• 3 slices black pudding, casing removed and roughly chopped

For the Cheese Sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 250ml milk, I use skimmed
• 50g strong cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp mustard I used Dijon
• Good grating of nutmeg
• Good pinch sea salt and black pepper

For the Breadcrumbs

• 1 slice of stale bread
• 12 peeled and cooked chestnuts
• ½ tbsp sage roughly chopped
• 1 tsp oil, I used olive
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the cauliflower florets and blanche for 4-5 minutes. Drain and immediately rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Tip them into an ovenproof dish and set aside.
2. If using the black pudding. Pop it in the air fryer and cook for 10 mins until it goes crispy. You can use the grill or a frying pan too 5 minutes each side. Once cooked put in the oven dish with the cauliflower.
3. To make the cheese sauce. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a pan until it starts to foam. Add the flour and give a good mix with a wooden spoon to form a roux. Cook the flour out for a few minutes but don’t let it burn (keep it moving around). Add the milk (I add mine all at once and I whisk it and all the lumps disappear when it gets hot. Take the pan off the heat when the sauce starts to bubble. Stir in the cheese until melted. Finallystir in the mustard, nutmeg and season to taste. Pour evenly over the black pudding and cauliflower.
4. In a food processor tear in the bread, add the chestnuts, sage oil and salt. Pulse until you get course breadcrumbs.
5. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the top is golden and it is slightly bubbling around the edges
6. Serve and Enjoy 😊