Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

Serves 1

100g butternut squash, cut into small chunks
40g quark
5g butter
5g plain flour
100g semi-skimmed milk
20g nutritional yeast
20g parmesan or hard cheese, finely grated
50g dried macaroni pasta
Simple green salad, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Place the squash in a microwavable bowl with a splash of water. Cover and microwave for 3-4 minutes until tender then blend with the quark until smooth.

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and add the flour when melted. Stir together to form a paste then gradually add in the milk, stirring the whole time to prevent lumps forming. Remove from the heat and stir into the quark and squash mix along with the nutritional yeast and half of the parmesan then set aside.

Cook the macaroni in a large pan of salted water for 1 minute less than the cooking time on the packet instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Stir the pasta into the cheese sauce, adding a splash of the reserved cooking water if needed.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the remaining parmesan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until bubbling hot and golden. Serve with a simple green salad.