Macaroni, Cauliflower & Cheese Bake

Recipe found in Masterchef magazine issue 2

300g macaroni
60g butter, chopped
1 small onion or half a big onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup plain flour
3 cups milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 and 1/4 cups finely grated parmesan
500g (about 1/2 head) of cauliflower, cut into florets
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaved parsley
6 slices prosciutto, torn
220g tub bocconcini, torn

Preheat oven to 200C. Cook pasta in boilling salted water for 1 1/2 mins less than the cooking time given on the packet. It should be firmer than al dente (slightly undercooked). Drain well and return to saucepan.

Melt butter in a separate saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 8 minutes or until soft. Add flour and cook, stirring until it looks grainy. Remove pan from heat and gradually whisk in milk until combined. return pan to medium heat and whisk continuously until mixture boils and thickens. Turn off heat and stir in mustard and 3/4 of the parsmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Add cauliflower and parsley to pasta and pour over the cheese sauce and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into a large baking dish (I had to use 2 square pyrex dishes)and top with proscuitto and bocconcini, then scatter over remaining parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes, swapping the dishes halfway if you are using 2 dishes, until tops are golden brown. Serve.

Notes
- I forgot to adding mustard. I think it could have tasted better with it.
- Ham or bacon could be used in place of proscuitto. I used short rind bacon.
- Finely grated (looked like cheese powder) parmesan can be found in Coles. I used the "smart brand" version (100g for A$1.70+, found alongside the dried pasta section). The cheapest I have seen was at Aldi (italian brand) - 100g for A$1.50.
- Broccocini is a type of cheese which has lower fat content that your parmesan, cheddar, etc. It comes in an irregular round shaped balls and you usually buy them immersed in some liquid in a plastic container. The cheapest you can find is about A$4.80 from Aldi. The average price is A$5+. Brocconcini is also great to add onto pizza that has just come out of the oven. I did not want to spend the money to buy broccocini and used shredded tasty cheese instead.
- Use any short pasta you like. I used bow-shapped ones, just because I don't often see these ones around.