Butternut Macaroni and Cheese

I have a confession to make. Last Wednesday I had some leftover pancetta pieces and I added them to a perfectly good meatless recipe. It worked out really well, but left me technically without a meatless recipe to share today. I debated fibbing just a little and not telling you this, but you can clearly see those guilty chunks of pancetta in the casserole above. It really didn’t need them though, and this is such a perfect vegetarian recipe (without the pancetta) I wanted to be sure to highlight it. Seriously, this mac and cheese is good – with or without the pancetta. I suppose you could use ‘vegetarian bacon’ if you wanted to get the salty sweet flavour the pancetta added to the recipe, but honestly, it would be perfectly delicious without any kind of meatiness. The butternut squash lends a really subtle sweetness, along with lots of extra vitamins.

Butternut Macaroni Cheese

adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine November 2011
Serves 4 generously

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 teaspoons olive oil
11 ounces macaroni
¼ cup butter
¼ cup plain flour
1 generous teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cups milk (you may need slightly more or less)
1 cup grated vegetarian cheddar
¼ cup grated vegetarian Parmesan style cheese
½ cup cubed pancetta (optional)

Heat the oven to 400℉ (200℃ or 180℃ for a fan oven).

Place the squash on a baking sheet and toss in the oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes until tender, stirring half way through.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain the macaroni and set aside.

Melt the butter in a pan. Stir in the flour and cook for a moment or two. Gradually whisk in the milk, stirring constantly. Simmer until the sauce thickens.

Remove the sauce from the heat. Mash in a third of the squash and the cheddar. Add the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the drained macaroni and the remaining chunks of squash.

If using pancetta, sauté the pancetta in a little oil. Drain and stir into the macaroni mixture.

Put the macaroni mixture into an ovenproof dish and scatter the remaining Parmesan over top. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and bubbling.