Roasted Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Preheat your oven to 425°F and lightly oil a large baking sheet. Set it aside.

In a large bowl, toss your broccoli florets and onion slices together with the canola oil, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and kosher salt. Make sure the vegetables are well mixed and the seasonings are distributed evenly throughout.

Pour the broccoli out onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread them out into a single layer – use a bigger baking sheet or cook them in two batches if necessary. Roast in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and slightly charred around the edges.

While the broccoli is cooking, prepare your cheese sauce: place a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and allow it to preheat for 2 minutes. Add the butter, and stir until it melts and becomes foamy, then sprinkle in the flour. Use a roux whisk or small spatula to mix the butter and flour together into a roux. A paste should form. Add more butter, or a touch of oil, if you don’t have enough fat to soak up all the flour.

Let the roux cook for 2 minutes, then slowly stir in the milk. Whisk to combine, then whisk in the kosher salt, ground mustard, and black pepper. Once the seasonings are mixed in, add the velvet. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium low, and let the Velveeta melt – this should take about 5–7 minutes.

Once the Velveeta has melted, turn off the heat and stir in the shredded cheddar until completely melted and the sauce is smooth. Give it a taste, and add more salt if you think it needs it.

When the broccoli is roasted, ladle the cheese sauce over the top of all the broccoli, being as generous as you’d like. Return the broccoli and cheese to the oven to roast for 5 minutes. Serve hot, and with more cheese sauce if desired. Dassit!