Jamie Oliver shared his “Friday-night favourite” dish – greens mac and cheese, and here’s how to make it.
The British chef has blitzed broccoli stalks to add colour to the meal and “punch to the sauce”; then the pretty florets add texture and nutritional goodness to the pasta-based recipe.
“Join the green team,” Jamie Oliver said. In his greens mac and cheese, there are leeks, spinach and broccoli – but that’s not all.
For extra bite, there are toasted almonds in his greens mac and cheese, and lots of Parmesan and Cheddar.
If you are looking forward to an easy and tasty meal, then here’s how to make Jamie Oliver’s delious dish.
Jamie Oliver’s greens mac and cheese recipe
Serves: six people
Ingredients:
One large leek
three cloves of garlic
400g of purple sprouting or tenderstem broccoli
40g unsalted butter
Half a bunch of fresh thyme (15g)
Two tablespoons of plain flour
One litre of semi-skimmed milk
450g dried macaroni
30g Parmesan cheese
150g mature Cheddar cheese
100g baby spinach
50g flaked almonds
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Trim, halve and wash the leek and peel the garlic, then finely slice with the broccoli stalks, reserving the florets for later.
Place the sliced vegetables in a large casserole pan over medium heat with the butter, then strip in the thyme leaves and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly.
Stir in the flour, followed slowly by the milk, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring regularly.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for five minutes, then drain.
Grate the Parmesan and most of the Cheddar into the sauce, and mix well. Tip into a blender, add the spinach and whiz until smooth. Jamie Oliver advised: “You may need to work in batches.”
Season to perfection with salt and black pepper, then stir through the pasta and broccoli florets, loosening with a splash of milk, if needed.
Transfer to a 25cm x 35cm baking dish, grate over the remaining Cheddar and scatter over the almonds. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
Substitutes recommended by Jamie Oliver
The great thing about a pasta bake dish is that the ingredients needed can be substituted and the meal can still turn out delicious.
Swaps
Swap Cheddar cheese for Mrs Kirkhan’s Lancashire
Swap leek for two onions
Swap spinach for any fresh or frozen greens
“I sometimes add breadcrumbs to the top for bonus crunch,” said Jamie Oliver, who is also a fan of adding herbs such as rosemary, oregano or thyme into the breadcrumbs.
