Crispy Cheese and Bacon Bake

Another winner from one of my favourite old recipe books. The brilliant collections from the Farmer’s Weekly. When I saw this recipe, I immediately thought my husband would love it, and of course, I was right.

Note: this old recipe uses marrow, so, before butternut squash arrived in our shops. It seems like they have been a part of our veggie scene for ages, but it is not that long. So, I replaced the marrow for the butternut squash.

Feeds 4 generous portions.

4 oz butter

1 large onion, chopped

12 oz butternut squash, cut into cubes [about ½ inch]

12 oz lean bacon, chopped

6 oz sliced mushrooms

8 oz cauliflower florets

1½ oz plain flour

¾ pint milk

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

4 oz grated cheddar cheese

4 sliced tomatoes

3 large thick bread slices, cubed

8 oz Brie cheese

a little more butter

parsley

Melt 2 oz of the butter in a large pan until quite hot, add the onion and squash and fry for about 7-8 mins.

Remove from the pan and set aside for a mo. Add the bacon and mushrooms and cook for 3-4 mins. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, simmer the florets until just tender, then drain.

Melt the other 2 oz butter, add the flour and cook off for a minute or so then gradually stir in the milk, add the seasonings and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and stir in the cheddar.

In a large ish dish, layer half of the squash, bacon and cauliflower mixtures, pour over half of the sauce. Cover with two sliced tomatoes.

Now repeat the layers, ending with the tomatoes. Top evenly with the cubed bread and Brie. Dot with butter and place in your pre heated oven for 40 mins.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

How wonderful. We all loved it! Serves four generously, even 5. With some crusty baguette.

Easily halved for two. Plus can be made ahead, but increase the cooking time a tad, turning down if browning too much.

Note: using a large hot pan, with a small amount of olive oil, I quickly started toasting the cubed bread, so it would end up lovely and golden.