DAILY DINNERS

Put the sliced onion, 7 whole sage leaves, mace and 700ml of the milk into a large pan and gently bring to just below simmering point. Turn off the heat, cover and leave the milk until cold. Strain and reserve the milk.

Put the chopped onions and butter into a pan and cook gently, partly covered until the onion is very soft but not coloured. Scoop out the onions with a slotted spoon leaving behind as much butter as you can (put the onion in a sieve over a bowl to catch any more butter). Stir in the flour and cook for 2 mins, then whisk in the infused milk, a little at a time until all the milk is incorporated and you have a smooth sauce. Bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, then take off the heat. Stir in 2/3 of the grated Parmesan with the whipping cream and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Finely chop the rest of the sage leaves and stir these in too, along with the softened chopped onion.

Fry the meatballs over a high heat, in batches, in a little olive oil, until they are golden and crispy.

In a baking dish, layer up ladlefuls of 1/2 the béchamel sauce with the meatballs, the pasta sheets and the butternut squash sheets. Mix the last 200ml of milk into the rest of the béchamel and pour this over the entire thing. Cover with foil.

Heat the oven to 180C/ Fan 160C/ Gas 4. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil, scatter over the remaining Parmesan and bake for another 30 - 40 mins until bubbling and golden.