Cauliflower cheese pasta bake with spinach is a great comfort food dish and is ready in just over half an hour. A cheese pasta bake makes a great mid-week dinner and can be prepared in advance.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6 and bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the pasta in the boiling water then reduce to a simmer and cook a few minutes short of the packet instructions. Add the cauliflower to the water for the last 5 minutes until it is tender but not too soft, then drain.
575 g cauliflower, 340 g pasta shapes
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter, sieve in the flour and add the milk, and hot vegetable stock. Bring to a boil stirring all the time then simmer until the sauce thickens. Keep stirring and any lumps will disappear.
40 g plain flour, 40 g butter, 300 ml milk, 300 ml vegetable stock
Add half the cheddar cheese and nutmeg and stir until the cheese has melted.
200 g mature cheddar cheese, ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Tip the pasta and cauliflower back into a large pan and stir in the spinach and cheese sauce.
100 g spinach
Tip everything into an oven-proof baking dish and sprinkle over the remaining cheddar. You should aim for a light covering of grated cheese. If you have a large dish, you may need to use more cheese to cover your pasta. If you're making this to use later, leave it to cool and store it in the fridge. It will keep for up to 2 days but is best cooked within 24 hours. See the tips on preparing in advance.
Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
Cauliflower. You can eat the cauliflower leaves and stalks as well as the head. Just wash them and chop them into bite-sized chunks and cook along with the cauliflower head.
Cheese. Use mature cheddar cheese to flavour the cheese sauce. A mature cheddar has a stronger flavour, so you will need less of it. As with all recipes, I recommend grating the cheese yourself as it's more economical and reduces plastic waste. Pre-grated cheeses don't always melt so well due to the anti-clumping agents that are added to them.
Pasta - use any pasta shapes such as fusilli, rigatoni, penne, macaroni, or shells.
Spinach - use fresh spinach rather than frozen. If you do use frozen spinach, be careful to squeeze the water out of it first or the pasta bake will be watery.
Nutmeg - goes well with spinach and has a slightly sweet, earthy nutty taste.
Storage
You can keep this cauliflower pasta bake in the fridge for up to two days. It doesn't freeze well unfortunately as the cauliflower will go mushy. To store cauliflowers, place them in a loosely sealed plastic bag with holes to allow for air circulation. Pop in a cloth or paper towel to absorb any moisture and store them in the bottom of the fridge in the salad compartment. A whole cauliflower should keep well for a week. Keep it upside down to prevent condensation from forming on top of the florets. Cut florets will keep for about 4 days.