Olivia Potts from Food By Feast shows us how to use that leftover Christmas stilton still in the fridge in a delicious recipe she wrote for the Spectator… ‘the ideal antidote to January diets… Stilton and broccoli bake’ in the Falcon pie dish.

Ingredients

1 pint whole milk
50g butter
50g plain flour
85g Stilton, plus extra for sprinkling
Salt, to taste
1 medium head of broccoli
2 thick slices stale white bread
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1/2 lemon, zested
1/2 clove garlic

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. First make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter gently in a medium sized pan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir vigorously until a paste has formed, and then continue to cook until the mixture sizzles. Add the milk in three stages, using a whisk to stir out any lumps. When the mixture is smooth and thick, add in the crumbled Stilton. When the Stilton has melted, taste the sauce, and season accordingly: you will probably need to add a generous sprinkle of salt, and some pepper.

If you want to use breadcrumbs, and don’t have any to hand, whizz up the bread in a food processor, then add the garlic, lemon zest, parmesan, and parsley, and pulse until combined. You may find it easier to make a larger batch and freeze the excess.

Cut the broccoli into small florets, and arrange in a medium sized, oven-safe dish. Spoon the sauce over the top, leaving some of the florets poking through, so that they crisp. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs if using, and a little extra Stilton if you like, and pop in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden.

Icing on the cake

We ate this with piles of supermarket gnocchi, pan-fried in just a little oil, until they were golden and crispy on the outside, alongside piles of bitter salad leaves and the simplest dressing: 2 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp dijon mustard, whisked together and poured over everything.