Cauliflower Cheese

A good value family favourite.

Ingredients for 4

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Ingredients
1	head	cauliflower
2 1/8	cups	fusili
7	ozs	cheddar cheese
4 1/4	ozs	ham (cooked, sliced)
4	tablespoons	butter
5 3/4	tablespoons	plain flour
1	teaspoon	salt
1/8	teaspoon	ground black pepper
1/8	teaspoon	nutmeg, grated
1 1/16	quart	milk
1 1/2	teaspoon	olive oil

Salt content: 0.3% (by weight, not counting salt in other ingredients)

Method

Preparation time: 60 minutes. See step-by-step instructions below.

Best with a salad and a glass of wine.

Step-by-Step Instructions

	Here is our lovely cauliflower - straight from my local famer's market! Take off the green leaves and cut back the stem. This one should be about right for four people.
	Now cut off the individual roses and wash them in cold water.
	Then cut the remaining stem into 5mm thick slices - don't waste it.
	Put the cauliflower into a sizeable saucepan, add some salt and about 1cm / 1/2 inch of water. Bring to a boil and steam the cauliflower with the lid closed for about 9 minutes.
	In the meantime, bring the water for the pasta to a boil (you should use pasta weight x 10 amounts of water), add half of the salt and the olive oil. Add the pasta and boil until "al dente" - follow the instructions on your pasta package.
	Whilst the cauliflower is steaming and your pasta is boiling, grate your cheese with a coarse grater.
	Put the cauliflower into an oven-proof dish that is big enough. You can cut the roses into 2 or 3 parts if they are too big - this is especially important if you have children as they won't like large chunks of cauliflower!
	When the pasta is done, drain is in a sieve and add it to the dish with the cauliflower. Distribute the pasta and the cauliflower evenly.
	Now cut your ham into squares (I'm using smoked ham here, which also works well).Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 4
	Time to make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
	When the butter has melted, add the flour and stir vigorously with a whisk or a wooden spoon.
	Whisk until the butter/flour mixture is nice and even and changes colour slightly.
	Now add small amounts of milk, whisk again until the mixture thickens, and add more milk. You will want your hob on a fairly high setting for this and proceed quickly.
	Once all the milk is added, bring to a boil again.
	Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Take it easy on the salt as we will add cheese later. Also, the ham will contain a fair amount of salt ...
	Now add half the grated cheese and whisk until the cheese has dissolved. Take the saucepan off the hob.
	Spread the ham on top of the cauliflower and pasta.
	Then add your white sauce - distribute it evenly.
	Last but not least, distribute the other half of the grated cheese on top. Put the dish into your pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes (or until it looks like in the picture below - don't burn it :-).
	Voila - your finished cauliflower cheese. Very popular with my kids!