Guest chef Lucy Tweed’s cauli corn mac ‘n’ cheese

Take a mac ‘n’ cheese and jazz it up with cauliflower and corn... the result is a rich and luxurious dish that’s perfect for winter.

Yum: cauli corn mac “n” cheese

The beauty of this dish is that if you have a fussy bunch, you can put bigger chunks of cauliflower on one side, or cut the cauli superfine and they won’t be able to pick it out. Serve with inactivewear, TV remote… you know the drill.

CAULI CORN MAC ‘N’ CHEESE

2 cups (500ml) milk

4 cups (1 litre) bechamel sauce (recipe below)

200g Red Leicester cheese, grated

200g cheddar, grated

100g mozzarella, grated

1 small cauliflower, cut into 1cm thick slices

2 corn cobs, kernels removed, cobs reserved

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

500g dried macaroni

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, sliced into 5mm thick rounds

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan). Make the bechamel sauce. Stir the milk into the bechamel in a saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add grated cheeses a handful at a time, making sure the last lot has melted before you add the next. Keep warm once it’s all melted in.

Place the cauli in a colander, and sit the colander in a big stainless steel bowl. Put corn cobs in a big saucepan filled with 5 litres of water and a heaped tablespoon of salt and bring to the boil. Cook the pasta in this corny water for 1 minute less than the packet instructions suggest for al dente. Drain the pasta over the cauliflower. Discard corn cobs; allow the cauliflower and pasta to steam for a minute before releasing the water.

Use 1 tablespoon of oil to grease a large baking dish and fill with the pasta, cauliflower, corn kernels and leek. Toss to combine; season well. Pour bechamel over the pasta mix, letting it sink in; drizzle with remaining oil and finish with paprika. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Serves 8

Guest chef Lucy Tweed

BECHAMEL SAUCE

100g butter

½ cup (75g) plain flour

4 cups (1 litre) milk, plus extra if needed

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and allow it to just start foaming. Add the flour and stir it into a paste using a wooden spoon. It should be smooth and golden. Reduce heat to low and add the milk, 1 cup (250ml) at a time. The first cup will instantly plug everything up. Keep stirring and try to get it back to a smooth state before adding more. Once it’s loose enough, switch to a whisk. It will help you keep the mixture smooth.

Gradually add the rest of the milk, whisking between each addition. Stop once you have a lovely thick, smooth texture. It may continue to thicken as it cooks and the flour swells more; just add more milk to your liking. It’s easier to loosen than it is to rethicken, so go slow. Makes 4 cups (1 litre)

Lucy Tweed’s book

From Every Night of the Week – Sanity Solutions for the Daily Dinner Grind by Lucy Tweed (Murdoch Books, $35). Photography by Lucy Tweed