Curried Cauliflower and Cheese Filo Pie

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 75 g plain flour
• 1 cauliflower, cut into small florets (700g)
• black pepper
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 675 ml milk
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 100 g butter, divided into 50g cubes and 50g melted
• 6 filo pastries
• 1 tbsp english mustard
• 150 g cheddar, grated
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped, for garnish
• 1 tsp lemon, for garnish
• Buttered peas and greens, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Line a 23cm springform tin, base and sides, with baking parchment.
2. Tip the cauliflower florets onto a large parchment-lined tray. Scatter over the curry powder, half the olive oil, a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Toss until every floret is properly coated — the oil is what carries the spice onto the cauliflower and lets it bloom in the heat. Don't crowd the tray; spread the florets in a single layer or they'll steam instead of roast.
3. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender and the edges are golden and starting to catch. The curry powder should smell toasted and fragrant, not dusty — that's the spices blooming in the oil and oven heat. Remove and lower the oven to 170°C fan.
4. Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Melt the cubed butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes, until it smells nutty and biscuity — you're cooking the raw flour out so the sauce doesn't taste pasty later.
5. Lower the heat to medium and add the milk a splash at a time, whisking constantly to keep it lump-free. Once it's all in, keep whisking for around 7 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn across leaves a clean line.
6. Off the heat, stir through the minced garlic, mustard, grated cheddar and a pinch of salt. The residual warmth softens the garlic without browning it — raw garlic dropped into a hot pan turns bitter in 30 seconds, so off the heat is exactly right here. Keep stirring until the cheese melts into a glossy sauce, then fold in the roasted cauliflower. Taste now: it should be punchy with mustard and curry, properly seasoned. Adjust salt and pepper at this point — once it's inside the filo, you've lost your chance.
7. Combine the melted butter with the remaining olive oil. Keep the filo sheets under a damp tea towel as you work — filo dries to dust in minutes if left uncovered. Brush one sheet with the butter mixture and lay it into the tin, letting the edges drape over the side. Repeat with the remaining 5 sheets, rotating each so the overhang covers the tin like the petals of a flower.
8. Spoon the curried cauliflower filling into the filo-lined tin and level the top. Fold the overhanging filo back over the filling in loose, scrunched folds — scrunched, not flat, is what gives you those shattering bronze ridges. Brush with any remaining butter as you go.
9. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the filo is deeply golden and crisp and the filling is bubbling at the edges. Let it settle for 5 minutes before releasing the tin — straight out of the oven the béchamel is too loose to slice cleanly.
10. Scatter the chopped parsley and lemon zest over the pie, add a squeeze of lemon across the top to cut through the cheese and butter, finish with a crack of black pepper, and serve in generous wedges.