1 hr 30 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
Take Christmas movie night up a notch with these bowls of deliciousness, inspired by one of my favourite old-school Christmas movies, the classic that is Home Alone. With butternut squash for bonus veg points and crispy sage on top, this is a lovely little meal the whole family can enjoy.
Ingredients
2 butternut squashes (1.5kg)
olive oil
500g macaroni pasta
1 bunch of fresh sage (20g)
2 cloves of garlic
50g plain flour
1.2 litres semi-skimmed milk
100g Red Leicester cheese
50g Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons English mustard
Top Tip
Don’t throw away those lovely squash seeds! Try roasting them with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and olive oil for a nice little snack.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Scrub the squashes (there’s no need to peel them), halve them lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut one of the halves in half crossways and slice the bottom part into 6 boats, then chop the rest into 3cm chunks. Place on a large baking tray, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil and toss with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 40 minutes, or until soft and golden.
- Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a pan of boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain, reserving a large mugful of starchy cooking water.
- Place a large saucepan on a medium-high heat. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil, pick in the sage leaves and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until crispy, then remove to kitchen paper, leaving the flavoured oil behind.
- Peel and finely slice the garlic and add to the pan. Fry for 1 minute, or until just starting to colour, then stir in the flour and cook for another minute. Slowly add the milk and cook for 5 minutes, or until you have a silky-smooth sauce, stirring continuously.
- Remove the sauce from the heat, grate in most of the cheese, tip in half the squash chunks and mash using a potato masher. Stir in the mustard, tip in the macaroni and reserved cooking water, give it all a good mix and season to perfection.
- Divide the remaining squash chunks between 6 ovenproof serving bowls, top with the cheesy pasta, smoothing it out into an even layer, then grate over the remaining cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden, adding a squash boat and a few crispy sage leaves to each bowl when there’s 1 minute to go.
- Leave to stand for a few minutes, then serve with a crisp green salad – delicious!
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