Pre heat oven to 180 fan bake.
Place chopped pumpkin onto a lined baking tray, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and bake for half an hour, until soft.
Slice chicken into roughly 1 cm slices. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a large deep sided pan with oil, brown the chicken quickly in batches then set aside.
In the same pan, add more oil and fry the onions for five minutes. Add the garlic and fresh thyme, simmering for a few more minutes.
Add the tomato paste and mix well. Then add the canned tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and then fold in the browned chicken.
Let this simmer for 10 minutes on a medium heat.
In a separate pan start the cheese sauce. Melt the butter on a low heat, then add the flour. Stir well until the flour is coated in butter. Pour the milk in slowly whilst whisking constantly. Turn up the heat and the sauce will start to thicken, make sure there isn’t lumps left. Now add 2 cups of cheese & some pepper. Stirring well until the cheese has melted through.
By this point the pumpkin should be cooked, mash the pumpkin and set it aside. Once the chicken is cooked, use two forks and carefully shred the chicken pieces.
Spoon a little of the chicken sauce over the bottom of a baking dish. Then add a sheet of pasta. Top with half of the chicken then pour over half of the cheese sauce. Add another layer of pasta. Then spoon over the pesto and then the mashed pumpkin. Top with the remaining chicken then the final layer of pasta. Finish with pouring the cheese sauce over the top. Spead it round evenly and scatter over the final cup of grated cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20-25 or until the top cheese is melted and nice and golden.
