Ingredients

Method

  1. Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and cook a little until the edges turn white and looks like a paste. This is the thickening agent for the milk
  2. Heat the milk, onion, bay leaf and cloves and simmer for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse into the milk.
  3. Ladle a little of the milk into the butter and flour mixture, whisking all the time to prevent any lumps. Turn the heat down low.
  4. Keep adding the milk bit by bit until it’s all whisked through and the white sauce is thick, then add ½ of the gruyere and ½ of parmesan. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 egg yolks for extra protein.
  5. Bring a deep pan of salted water to the boil then add the Rigatoni (cooking time 13 minutes). After 10 minutes, tip the cauliflower pieces into the same pot as the Rigatoni to cook for the remaining 3 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
  7. Drain into a colander and toss the Rigatoni and cauliflower through the cheese sauce. Transfer to an oven proof dish, top with a little extra parmesan and gruyere and bake until the top is golden brown.
  8. Meanwhile crispy fry some slices of day old bread and crumble over the top of the Rigatoni and cauliflower cheese before serving with a tomato salad of tomato with freshly torn basil, a squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt.