‘Simply the easiest’ cauliflower cheese – in the air fryer

Creamy cauliflower cheese can be turned into something special in an air fryer.
Sam and Dom Milner explain how to use your air fryer to turn cauliflower into something special.
We have some simple tricks to make this creamy cauliflower cheese even easier. Combining frozen cauliflower with a leftover vege cheese sauce, this is perfect for Sunday dinners, Christmas or just a simple dinner side dish.
Serves 4
Hero basket/dual
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Calories: 767
Ingredients
675g frozen cauliflower florets
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried mixed herbs/Italian seasoning
1 recipe quantity Bits and Bobs Cheese Sauce (see below)
85g/1 cup grated mature/ sharp Cheddar cheese, for sprinkling
Salt and black pepper
Method
Why do we use frozen cauliflower? Frozen cauliflower cooks quickly in the air fryer, doesn’t go hard like fresh and, of course, saves you on prep time.
My favourite way to make a sauce is to gather up different veggies that need using up, to avoid wastage. I cook them until tender, then blend and use as base for a sauce that can be transformed into different sauces depending what meals we are eating.
We will then freeze in 240ml/1 cup portions which can be used when needed.
Makes 4 freezer cubes
Hero dual
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 mins
Calories: xxx
Ingredients
6 medium tomatoes
3 medium carrots
1 medium courgette/zucchini
225g/8oz butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 garlic bulb
1 x 150g/5½oz pack garlic and herb cream cheese (we use Boursin)
2 tsp dried basil
240ml/8fl oz/1 cup whole milk/full-fat milk, plus extra if needed
Salt and black pepper
Method
Note: You can mix and match vegetables you have in, but try to balance naturally starchy vegetables, such as root vegetables, with vegetables with a higher water content, such as tomatoes or courgette. If you just add watery vegetables, your sauce will be too thin, and with too many root vegetables, it will be too thick.
Use the sauce as your base for:
Edited extract from Air Fryer Easy Everyday: 140 Super-Simple, Delicious Recipes by Sam Milner and Dom Milner, $39.99, published by Quarto.