Recipe and images courtesy of Rebel Recipes (@rebelrecipes on Instagram)
Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes
Creamy, cheesy and bubbling underneath with a wonderfully golden, crunchy top, this is proper cosy food for the start of autumn. Broccoli and creamy cannellini beans are folded through a rich garlicky sauce made with ground almonds and nutritional yeast, then covered with a rustic breadcrumb topping packed with flaked almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
The contrast between the creamy filling and crunchy, nutty topping makes this particularly delicious - a comforting family dinner that also happens to be packed with vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Sea salt and black pepper
For the cheesy almond sauce
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 500ml unsweetened plant milk
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 50g ground almonds
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Sea salt and black pepper
For the crunchy almond & seed topping
- 100g bread, roughly torn
- 40g flaked almonds
- 30g pumpkin seeds
- 30g sunflower seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Pinch of sea salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan).
- Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan or casserole over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 8–9 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan or casserole over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 8–9 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Melt the vegan butter in a separate saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir well to form a smooth paste. Cook for around 1 minute, stirring continuously.
- Gradually pour plant milk, whisking continously until smooth. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Stir in the nutritional yeast, ground almonds and Dijon mustard. Season generously with salt and black pepper and cook for another minute or two until creamy.
- Add the cannellini beans to the broccoli mixture, then pour over the cheesy almond sauce. Squeeze in the lemon juice and gently stir everything together. Check the seasoning.
- Add the bread, flaked almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, olive oil, thyme and salt to a food processor. Pulse briefly until you have a rough, chunky crumb, keeping plenty of texture.
- Scatter the crunchy topping generously over the creamy broccoli and bean mixture.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes, until bubbling around the edges and crisp and golden on top.
- Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
