Butternut squash macaroni cheese with rosemary, bacon and Parmesan

Categories: March

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash
• olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 dried chilli or 1 large pinch of dried chilli flakes, crushed
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 400g macaroni
• 285ml full-fat milk
• 284ml carton double cream
• 150g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 8 slices pancetta or streaky bacon
• sprig of rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 150g bread, torn into chunks

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/fan 180˚C/gas 6. Peel the squash with a peeler, halve, scoop out and discard the seeds and chop the flesh into chunks.

2. Add a splash of olive oil to a saucepan, and fry the garlic gently until light brown. Add the chilli, cinnamon and squash and a small glass of water. Cover with a lid and cook on a medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the squash is soft. Uncover and boil the liquid around the squash until it reduces to almost nothing. Remove from the heat and take out the cinnamon. Mash the squash and season.

3. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain well. Before it starts to stick together, toss in a bowl with the mashed squash, milk and cream. Add three-quarters of the Parmesan and season, then spoon into a large baking dish.

4. In a large frying pan, fry the pancetta or bacon until lightly brown. Add the rosemary and bread, fry gently for a minute or two, then pulse in a food processor until chopped. Sprinkle the top of the macaroni with the remaining Parmesan, then the bacon and rosemary breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until warmed through and crispy and bubbling on top.

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