Faux Lasagna

So, you made a gigantic batch of bolognaise sauce, and you don't want to eat spaghetti bolognaise for breakfast, lunch and dinner for two weeks, so what should you do with it? Well, my recommendation is to freeze it in small batches so you can make meals quickly and easily on those lazy days. But if you want a change from the old spag bol, here's something you can try with the sauce.


I like to call it a "faux lasagna". I can't make a real lasagna because I don't have an oven. So here's what I do.

I boil up some regular pasta, such as a penne or spirals.

While that is boiling, I make the bechamel sauce. To do this, I melt one tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan, and add one tablespoon (or slightly less) of flour, mixing it in and cooking for about a minute, making sure it doesn't burn. Then I turn off the heat and slowly add one cup of slightly warmed (in the microwave) milk, whisking as I go. Once that's all added, I add salt, pepper and nutmeg and return it to the heat, stirring all the while as it heats up. It needs to continue cooking and being stirred for about 5 minutes. Then, I turn of the heat, add some grated cheese to melt in there, and a little more nutmeg.

Once the pasta has cooked, I drain it and add my leftover bolognaise sauce, heating it through briefly to make sure everything is hot.

Then, I load the sauce covered pasta into small ramekin dishes, or otherwise, one large casserole dish. I top it with the bechamel sauce, and a little extra grated cheese. I let this grill in the toaster oven until the cheese is all golden and melty.

This is such a quick and easy way to use your leftovers and get that yummy lasagna taste with minimal effort!