Crispy Broccoli Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 40 g panko breadcrumbs
• 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 700 ml milk
• 30 g butter
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 300 g macaroni
• 200 g mature cheddar, grated
• 40 g parmesan, grated
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven grill to high. Simmer the butternut squash in a small pan of water for 10 to 12 minutes until a knife slides through with no resistance, then drain well and blitz or mash to a smooth purée. Set aside.
2. Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously — it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself. Add the macaroni and cook for 2 minutes less than the packet says — it'll finish in the sauce. Drain and set aside.
3. Melt half the butter in a large ovenproof sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add the broccoli in a single layer — don't crowd the pan or it'll steam instead of catch — and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until bright green with proper golden patches at the edges. Season with salt and pepper and scoop out onto a plate.
4. Drop the remaining butter into the pan, then stir in the garlic. Cook just until fragrant, 30 seconds, no more — burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter. Add the flour and cook for a minute to a sandy paste that smells biscuity and nutty.
5. Gradually pour in the milk, whisking hard as you go, until completely smooth — patience here means no lumps later. Whisk in the butternut purée and the Dijon, then season well. The sauce should be the colour of rich custard and coat the back of a spoon.
6. Tip in the par-cooked macaroni and simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the sauce has thickened around it. Pull off the heat.
7. Stir through most of the cheddar and half the parmesan off the heat — direct heat splits the cheese and you lose the gloss. Fold the broccoli back in. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust now — at the end, not at the table.
8. Scatter the remaining cheddar, parmesan and the panko breadcrumbs over the top in an even layer. Slide under the hot grill for 4 to 6 minutes until the top is bubbling and crisp at the edges, with deep golden patches on the breadcrumbs. Watch it — grills turn from amber to charcoal in seconds. Rest for 3 minutes; the sauce needs that moment to settle.
9. Finish with a squeeze of lemon over the top to cut the richness, scatter the parsley generously, and bring to the table with the dressed green salad alongside.