Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
Old-school broccoli and cheese casserole is not bad. But with an update, it can be great.
by Morgan Bolling
MY MOTHER USED to make a
dump-and-stir broccoli and cheese cas-
serole with frozen broccoli, condensed
soup, lots of cheese, and a buttery
cracker topping. It was far from fancy,
but I loved eating it as a kid. I wanted
to serve an adult version of this classic
side dish.
To start, I made a few existing recipes
for broccoli and cheese casserole from
a range of sources: family cookbooks,
classics such as Joy of Cooking, and more.
I learned a few things along the way.
Fresh broccoli works much better than
frozen, which tasted watery in this con-
text. Casseroles built on fl our-thickened
white sauces are less gloppy than those
made with stir-together sauces using
cream cheese or condensed soup. And a
crunchy topping is never a bad move.
I made a quick cheese sauce by cook-
ing butter and fl our before whisking
in half-and-half and grated extra-sharp
cheddar cheese, a process similar to the
one you might use when making maca-
roni and cheese. I combined this sauce
with 2 pounds of raw broccoli fl orets,
sprinkled on some panko bread crumbs,
and baked it. While it smelled delicious,
this version featured a curdled cheese
sauce and a pool of bubbling fat—a
common occurrence when you cook
with aged cheeses such as sharp cheddar
(the sharper the cheddar, the older it is),
which tend to break under prolonged
heat. What’s more, the broccoli never
got fully tender in the time it took to
brown the crumbs.
First I dealt with the broccoli. I knew
I’d have to precook it to reduce the
oven time, which would help prevent
the sauce from breaking. I tried blanch-
ing and roasting the broccoli but landed
on microwaving, which was the easiest,
fastest method and gave me consistent
results. This step allowed me to reduce
the oven time from 45 minutes to
15 minutes while still fully cooking the
broccoli. But even with just 15 minutes
in the oven, my sauce was breaking into
a greasy mess.
I was determined to stick with
extra-sharp cheddar for its outsize
fl avor. A coworker suggested adding
a bit of American cheese to the mix
to help forestall the breakage I’d been
experiencing; because American cheese
contains emulsifi ers, sauces made
with it are more likely to stay together.
A 1:3 ratio of American to extra-sharp
cheddar gave me a silky, creamy sauce
with plenty of fl avor, and additions of
garlic, shallot, and dry mustard provided
even more.
To take this broccoli and cheese
casserole over the top, I mixed some
grated Parmesan into the buttery
bread-crumb topping before baking.
This reinforced the nutty, cheesy
fl avors and helped the top crust turn
extra-golden and crispy. I had a star
side dish on my hands.CRUNCHY BROCCOLI
AND CHEESE CASSEROLE
Serves 6 to 8
If you do not have a bowl large enough
to hold 2 pounds of broccoli, microwave
the broccoli in two batches for 5 to
7 minutes. Make sure your dry mustard
is relatively fresh; its fl avor starts to fade
a few months after it’s opened.3⁄4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated
(1⁄2 cup)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted,
plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
2 pounds broccoli fl orets, cut into
1-inch pieces
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose fl our
3 cups half-and-half
6 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese,
shredded (11⁄2 cups)
2 ounces American cheese,
chopped (1⁄2 cup)
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle
position and heat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine panko, Parmesan, melted
butter, and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl;
set aside. - Toss broccoli with ½ teaspoon salt
in large bowl. Cover and microwave
until broccoli is bright green and just
tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain broc-
coli in colander, then transfer to 13 by
9-inch baking dish. - Melt remaining 3 tablespoons but-
ter in medium saucepan over medium
heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook
until softened, about 2 minutes. Whisk
in fl our and cook for 1 minute. Slowly
whisk in half-and-half. Increase heat
to medium-high and bring mixture
to boil. Off heat, quickly whisk in
cheddar, American cheese, hot sauce,
How do you turn bread crumbs into a flavorful, crunchy topping? Add butter and Parmesan.Why Three Cheeses?
We decided to make our supersavory
cheese sauce with extra-sharp cheddar
because we love this cheese’s complex,
nutty bite. But a sauce made solely
with extra-sharp cheddar will break and
become greasy. Instead of switching to
another cheese, we added a few ounces
of good old American cheese, which
contributes subtly milky fl avor but does
yeoman’s work in the texture department.
American cheese contains stabilizers that
prevent the sauce from separating. So,
we use one cheese for fl avor and another
for texture in the sauce that binds the
casserole—plus, we mix a third cheese,
Parmesan, with the bread crumbs and
butter for the topping.mustard, 1½ teaspoons salt, and
¼ teaspoon pepper until smooth.- Pour cheese sauce over broc-
coli in dish and stir to combine.
Sprinkle reserved panko mixture
over top. Bake, uncovered, until
casserole is bubbling around edges
and golden brown on top, about
15 minutes. Let cool for 15 min-
utes. Serve.
TO MAKE AHEAD
Panko mixture and microwaved,
drained broccoli can be refriger-
ated separately for up to 24 hours.
To serve, continue with recipe from
step 3, increasing baking time by
5 minutes.FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 11