Sweet potato macaroni cheese

Serves 4

• 300g pennette
• 4 15 ml tbsp soft unsalted butter
• 3 15 ml tbsp plain flour
• 500g full-fat milk
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 0.25 tsp paprika
• 75g feta cheese
• 125g mature cheddar
• 4 fresh sage leaves
• 0 pepper

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.

Step 2
Put on a large-ish pan of water to boil, with the lid on to make it come to the boil faster.

Step 3
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them roughly into 2-3cm pieces.

Step 4
When the water’s boiling, add salt to taste, and then the sweet potato pieces, and cook them for about 10 minutes or until they are soft.

Step 5
Scoop them out of the water into a bowl – using a “spider” or slotted spoon – and lightly mash with a fork, without turning them into a purée.

Step 6
In another saucepan, gently melt the butter and add the flour, whisking to form a roux, then take the pan off the heat, slowly whisk in the milk and, when it’s all combined and smooth, put back on the heat.

Step 7
Exchange your whisk for a wooden spoon, and continue to stir until your gently bubbling sauce has lost any floury taste and has thickened.

Step 8
Add the mustard and the ¼ teaspoon of paprika.

Step 9
Drain (reserving some of the pasta cooking water first) and then add the pennette to the mashed sweet potato, and fold in to combine; the heat of the pasta will make the mash easier to mix in.

Step 10
Add the feta to the sweet potato and pasta mixture, crumbling it in so that it is easier to disperse evenly, then fold in the white sauce, adding the grated cheddar as you go.

Step 11
Add some of the pasta cooking water, should you feel it needs loosening up at all.

Step 12
Check for seasoning again, then, when you’re happy, spoon the brightly sauced macaroni cheese into 4 small ovenproof dishes of about 375-425ml capacity (or 1 large rectangular dish measuring about 30 x 20 x 5cm deep and 1.6 litre capacity).

Step 13
Sprinkle the remaining cheddar over each one, dust with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of paprika, then shred the sage leaves and scatter the skinny green ribbons over the top, too.

Step 14
Put the pots on a baking tray, pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes (or, if you’re making this in a larger dish, bake for 30–35 minutes), by which time they will be piping hot and bubbling, and begging you to eat them.