Jamie Oliver's genius cauliflower cheese pasta recipe uses up Christmas leftovers

In the wake of Christmas, many UK households grapple with figuring out what to do with an excess of festive leftovers. A nifty culinary twist could offer a solution, transforming surplus cauliflower and stale bread into a scrumptious, heartwarming pasta meal.

British chef Jamie Oliver shared this ingenious recipe on his website, which hails from his cookbook '£1 Wonders' and serves four in just half an hour. He said: "Who doesn't love a quick pasta? This lovely little number is all about keeping costs down and ramping up flavour.

"I've taken my favourite side dish (the iconic cauliflower cheese) and turned it into something a little bit grown-up."

Ingredients

400g frozen cauliflower florets

One leek

Olive oil

Two cloves of garlic

One slice of stale crusty white bread (50g)

20g mixed nuts

One pinch of dried thyme

One tablespoon plain flour

400ml semi-skimmed milk

100g mature Cheddar cheese

300g dried spaghetti

Method:

To prepare, begin by microwaving the cauliflower and white part of the leek (reserving the green top) in a microwave-proof bowl until the vegetables are cooked through. Then in a large skillet, sauté finely chopped garlic in olive oil until golden, reports the Express.

Start by thinly slicing the green tops of the leek and adding them to your pan. Next, tear or roughly chop some bread into chunky breadcrumbs and toss them in as well.

Give it a good stir every now and then, letting the breadcrumbs cook for about five minutes until they start to get crispy. Once they've turned golden, mix in the chopped nuts and keep cooking for another minute or so until they're lightly toasted.

Take everything out of the pan and set it aside on a plate for later. Next up, put the skillet back on the heat and add a teaspoon of oil. Peel and finely slice the remaining garlic clove and pop it in the pan.

Let it cook for two minutes until it turns golden. Slice the white part of the leek and add it to the pan, then mix in the dried thyme and the softened cauliflower.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan and give it a good mix, then slowly pour in the milk bit by bit, stirring all the while, until you end up with a smooth, creamy sauce. .

Take the pan off the heat and use a hand blender to puree the sauce until it's completely smooth - or if you prefer a chunkier texture, use a potato masher. Stir in most of the cheese and mix until it's melted and smooth.

While you're doing all this, cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water according to the instructions on the packet. When the pasta is ready, transfer it straight into the sauce, making sure to bring along a little of the pasta water.

Toss the pasta and sauce together, adding extra pasta water as needed to get the consistency just right.

Dish up the pasta onto plates, garnishing with the crunchy breadcrumb and nut mix, and top it off with the leftover grated cheese.