James Martin Maple Pancetta Cauli Cheese

James Martin’s maple pancetta cauliflower cheese blanches cauliflower in a rich Dijon and extra mature cheddar sauce, grills it golden, then tops it with butter-fried brioche crumbs and crisp pancetta glazed in maple syrup. It grills in 4-5 minutes, the toppings take another five, and it serves four as a side or a standalone supper.

The recipe comes from BBC’s Home Comforts, and it’s Martin’s three-part upgrade on the comfort food classic. He swaps ordinary breadcrumbs for brioche crumbs fried in butter, stirs Dijon mustard into the cheese sauce for backbone, and finishes with 20 rashers of maple-glazed pancetta piled on top. Each change sounds small but the finished dish tastes nothing like the school-dinner version.

The cheese sauce is straightforward but depends on one thing: adding the milk gradually. You cook a proper roux, then whisk the milk in a little at a time, waiting for it to thicken between each addition, until you have a smooth sauce. Dumping the milk in all at once gives you lumps, and no amount of whisking afterwards fully rescues them.

James Martin Maple Pancetta Cauli Cheese

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Calories

1100

kcal

Total time

35

minutes

James Martin’s upgraded cauliflower cheese from BBC’s Home Comforts: a Dijon-spiked extra mature cheddar sauce, butter-fried brioche crumbs and crisp pancetta glazed with maple syrup. Comfort food taken to another level. Serves four.

Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower, stalk removed, florets separated

• 100g/3½oz butter

• 40g/1½oz plain flour

• 500ml/18fl oz milk

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 300g/10½oz extra mature cheddar, grated

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 slices brioche, blended to crumbs in a food processor

• 20 rashers streaky bacon or pancetta

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

prime30 days freeMissing an ingredient?✓ Free fast delivery   ✓ Cancel anytimeTry Prime freeUnderlined ingredients link to Amazon UK. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Directions

• Blanch the cauliflower:Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Boil the cauliflower florets in salted water for 5-6 minutes until tender, then drain and refresh in iced water.
• Make the sauce:Melt half the butter in a large saucepan, whisk in the flour to a smooth paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking continuously. Gradually add the milk, whisking after each addition until smooth. Stir in the mustard and half the cheddar until melted, then season.
• Grill:Drain the cauliflower and transfer to an ovenproof dish. Pour over the cheese sauce, scatter the remaining cheddar on top and grill for 4-5 minutes until golden and bubbling.
• Fry the brioche crumbs:Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a frying pan, add the brioche crumbs and fry, stirring, until golden and crisp. Transfer to a bowl.
• Glaze the pancetta:Wipe the pan, add the pancetta and dry-fry until crisp and golden. Drizzle over the maple syrup and stir until every rasher is coated.
• Serve:Scatter the brioche crumbs over the cauliflower cheese, lay the maple pancetta on top and spoon onto plates.

FAQs

Why brioche crumbs instead of normal breadcrumbs?

Brioche is richer and sweeter than ordinary white bread, so the crumbs fry up into something golden, buttery and almost biscuit-like rather than the pale, dry crumbs you’d get from a standard loaf. Frying them separately in butter means they stay crisp on top of the gratin instead of going soggy under the grill.

Three slices is all you need: blitz them in a food processor just enough to make rough crumbs, not dust. Martin uses the same brioche trick in his Gruyère and pancetta brioche sandwich, where the enriched bread does the same job of absorbing butter and turning golden without falling apart.

Is 300g of cheddar too much?

Not for this dish. Martin uses extra mature cheddar deliberately, because its concentrated, sharp flavour carries through the sauce more assertively than mild cheddar, so you taste cheese rather than just cream. Half goes into the sauce to melt, and half is scattered on top to grill into a bubbling, browned crust.

The Dijon mustard in the sauce matters too: it adds a sharp, vinegary kick that stops 300g of cheese tasting heavy. It’s the same approach behind his ultimate macaroni cheese, where mustard and a blend of cheeses keep a rich sauce tasting defined rather than one-note.

Why ice the cauliflower after blanching?

Refreshing in iced water stops the cooking dead. If you drain the blanched cauliflower and leave it sitting in its own steam, it carries on softening and you’ll end up with mush under the sauce. The ice bath locks in the just-tender texture, so the florets hold their shape through the grilling.

It also means you can blanch the cauliflower well ahead and hold it until you’re ready to assemble. Drain it thoroughly before putting it in the dish, since any water left on the florets will thin the cheese sauce and make the gratin watery.

Can I serve it as a main course?

Absolutely. Martin pitches it as a side, but with 300g of cheese, 20 rashers of pancetta and butter-fried brioche crumbs, it’s substantial enough on its own. Add a sharp green salad or some crusty bread and it’s a proper supper for four.

As a side, it’s the natural partner for a simple roast or something from the same Home Comforts stable, like his beef bourguignon or a beef ragu with linguine. The rich sauce and salty pancetta hold their own next to strong flavours, so don’t pair it with anything too delicate.

Twenty rashers of pancetta seems like a lot. Can I use less?

It does seem generous, but Martin uses thinly sliced streaky bacon or pancetta, so 20 rashers weigh less than you’d expect and cook down considerably as they crisp. The maple syrup glaze caramelises them into sticky, salty-sweet shards piled on top, which is really the signature flourish.

If you’d rather scale back, 10-12 rashers still gives good coverage. You could also chop the pancetta into lardons instead of laying whole rashers on top. The maple glaze is worth keeping regardless of quantity, since it’s the sweet-salty crunch against the creamy cheese that lifts this above an ordinary gratin.

Can I make it ahead?

Partly. You can blanch and ice the cauliflower, make the cheese sauce and blitz the brioche crumbs in advance, then assemble and grill when you’re ready to eat. The sauce thickens as it cools, so warm it gently and loosen with a splash of milk before pouring it over.

The toppings are strictly last-minute: fry the brioche crumbs and glaze the pancetta just before serving, because both lose their crunch as they cool. That makes it a good dish for entertaining, since the work is front-loaded and the final assembly takes five minutes. To follow, his sticky toffee pudding makes a properly indulgent Home Comforts supper.