The Best Macaroni Cheese

I’ll admit this is a bit of work but completely worth it as it delivers an incredibly tasty and moreish dinner. The addition of roasted butternut squash helps you towards your five a day. I like to serve this with steam broccoli and sweetcorn on the side.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed.
• 400g of macaroni
• A handful of breadcrumbs

For the cheese sauce

• 500ml of milk
• 1 small onion, cut in half and studded with four whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• A good grating of nutmeg
• 50g butter
• 6 tablespoons of flour
• 50g cheddar
• 50g guyere cheese

 

Method

Start by heating an oven to 180oC. Drizzle the butternut squash in olive oil, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for around 45 minutes, giving a good toss halfway through.

Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water for around 10 minutes. Then drain well. Put in a large ovenproof dish and stir in the roasted butternut squash.

Place the milk in a pan and add the onion, clove, bay leaves and nutmeg. Heat the milk until just below boiling then remove from the heat and strain.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium low saucepan until it starts to bubble, the stir in the flour and keep stirring until it turns a nice golden colour. Add the milk bit by bit constantly stirring with a whisk until it is all combined. Remove from the heat and add 3/4 of the cheese, stirring until it has melted in. Pour over the macaroni and butternut squash. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and the remainder of the cheese and place in the oven and cook for around 30 minutes until it’s golden on top.