More than Macaroni

My mother often used to put some bacon in Macaroni Cheese for the flavour and colour. I never really liked that as I only like my bacon really crispy and hers was always a bit limp and anaemic (apart from this grumble I should say that she's a wonderful cook). I wanted to add a little something to my Macaroni cheese this weekend, so I built it up with layers of cooked spinach (with the water squeezed out) and pastrami before pouring the cheese sauce all over it. I realise pastrami is Jewish not Italian and that by combining it with milk, cheese and butter I'm turning it into the antithesis of Kosher, but I wasn't going for authenticity, I was going for taste, and the peppery coating on the meat was wonderful. It would have been even better with a watercress salad.