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Secrets for leftover sauce

EVERYBODY loves a good bolognese recipe but how can you use up that leftover sauce as an inventive second meal?

bolognese leftovers taste
bolognese leftovers taste

EVERYBODY loves a good bolognese recipe but how can you use up that leftover sauce as an inventive second meal?

And what can you add to your leftover sauce to help take it to another place?

Why not try these 15 things to do with leftover bolognese sauce?

MAKE A LASAGNE

YOU can always add another can of tomatoes and some fried bacon to stretch your remaining sauce. 

MAKE A BAKE

HEAT the remaining sauce and then mix with a small, short pasta shape like penne, drained and fresh from the boiling water.

Pile into an ovenproof and buttered dish.

Top with some grated tasty cheese, mozzarella and parmesan.

Bang into an 180C oven and cook until it goes golden on the top.

Serve in slabs with a fresh green salad. 

CREPES

FILL crepes with the sauce and bake them in an oven dish with tasty cheese sprinkled over the top.

TOAST

TRY the old penniless student treat of piling your warmed leftover sauce on toast but top with chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon.

A gratinated grill cheese topping is also good.

MASH

MAKE a well in the middle of a pile of mashed potato and fill it with the hot sauce.

Add grated cheese  - or mix a packed cup of grated tasty cheese into your potato at the mashing stage so you get cheese-stringy mash.

POLENTA

SERVE the sauce poured over a bowl of wet polenta. Top with a good squeeze of lemon, some lemon zest and loads of fresh chopped parsley. To make this dish even sexier, put a layer of thick-sliced, pan fried field mushooms (cooked with thyme leaves) on top of the sauce-topped polenta. Top these with a slice of melty Swiss cheese, if that takes your fancy, with a sprinkling of more fresh thyme leaves and a squeeze of lemon.

PIE FILLING

TOP bolognese with puff pastry. You can always stretch the sauce with chunks of mushroom, whole roast shallots or any other cooked root vegie.

STUFFED CAPSICUM

TAKE the seeds and veins out of capsicums. Fill the cavity with alternating layers of sauce and cooked rice. Then bake in the oven with grated cheese sprinkled on top until the filling is hot, the capsicum is cooked and the topping dark, golden and bubbly.

BAKED POTATO

SERVE on a baked potato with either grated cheese on top, or with a dollop of sour cream and fresh chives.

COBBLER

POUR the leftover sauce into a baking dish small enough so the sauce is about few centimetres thick. Make a batch of scone dough and pop some small scone-sized dollops of dough on top of the sauce.

Bake until the scones are risen and fluffy. We'll call this a bolognese cobbler  - because the close-packed scones, once risen, look like cobblestones.

HOT DOG

POUR it over a hot dog in a soft bun, adding an Aussie take on the US famous chilli dog.

PARMIGIANA

POUR over the top of a chicken or veal schnitzel for a home version of the classic Aussie counter meal.

COTTAGE PIE

HEAT the sauce and pour into a baking dish that's small enough so the sauce is an inch (2.5cm) deep.

Top with piped mashed potato to make a tomatoey cottage pie.

If you've got some cooked carrots left over, dice them and add them to the sauce.

If there is not enough sauce for this, you can always make it go further by addding more browned beef mince and some stock. Alternatively, you can throw in a handful or two of peas depending on how much sauce you have. Frozen are fine. Just always make sure the sauce is properly heated through before assembling.

MOUSSAKA

LAYER the sauce between cooked slices of eggplant and potato for a cheat's  - very inauthentic  -  moussaka. Just don't tell George's mum Mary or I'll get in trouble for suggesting this.

CHILLI CON CARNE

ADD a can of drained kidney beans, finely chopped long red chillies, red capsicums and a good splash of Tabasco and cook through to make a Texas roadhouse-style chilli con carne. Instead of the traditional kidney beans, you can add baked beans or a cup of frozen or tin of drained corn kernels.

You could just add the corn and leave out the kidney beans but then I'd also throw in a green capsicum chopped into 2cm tiles. When your fake chilli is hot, serve with oven-warmed corn chips, dolloped on nachos, or in tacos with shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, a little grated cheese and sour cream.

Of course, if none of these suggestions appeal to you, you've always got one other option  - freeze and use later.

RECIPES FROM TASTE.COM.AU

OBVIOUSLY, you'll need to substitute the shop-bought bolognese they suggest:

Spaghetti bolognese frittata

Cheesy spinach cannelloni

Free-form lamb mince bolognese pie

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BOLOGNESE SAUCE

For a slow-cooked spaghetti bolognese that's big on flavour, look no further than this tasty version by Super Food Ideas Best Spag Bol finalist,  Annette Ryan.

Serves 6

Skills: Basic

5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 brown onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
500g premium beef mince
250g premium pork mince
250g premium veal mince
140g tub tomato paste
2 tbsp dried oregano
690g bottle tomato passata sauce
1 cup beef stock (see note)
1 cup pinot noir
2 dried bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
550g dried spaghetti, cooked
Grated parmigiano cheese, to serve
 
Heat oil in a large, deep, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until onion has softened.

Add carrot and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 6-7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Increase heat to high.

Add all mince. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, for 8-10 minutes or until browned.

Add tomato paste and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add passata, stock and wine. Stir to combine.

Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Add bay leaves and thyme. Cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Stir in basil. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Cook, partially covered, for  1 hour or until thickened. Remove and discard thyme stems and bay leaves.
Divide pasta between bowls. Top with sauce. Serve with grated parmigiano.

Recipe: Annette Ryan,  Super Food Ideas

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/praise-for-bolognese-leftovers/news-story/c30a8d40d7407edcdfc15d341c879090