THE great vegie bake-off

BROCCOLI AU GRATIN

PREP + COOK TIME 45 MINUTES SERVES 6

120g butter
¼ cup (35g) plain flour
2 cups (500ml) milk
195g grated vegetarian gruyère cheese
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1kg broccoli
1½ cups (115g) panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
⅓ cup (40g) natural flaked almonds
1 teaspoon shichimi togarashi (see notes)

1 Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

2 Melt half the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour. Cook, stirring, until mixture bubbles. Gradually stir in milk; stir for 4 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat; stir in half the cheese and miso. Season to taste.

3 Cut broccoli crossways into 1.5cm-thick slices. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil; cook broccoli for 2 minutes. Drain well.

4 Place breadcrumbs, almonds, remaining melted butter, remaining cheese and shichimi togarashi in a small bowl; mix to combine. Season.

Arrange broccoli in a 25cm x 15cm ovenproof dish; pour over sauce. Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture;