Spaghetti Pie

My my, Spaghetti Pie. This is a delightful retro dish, inspired by a home-cooked meal Jenna in the film Waitress, makes for her abusive husband. So it has peace-keeping abilities that no one should ever have to use!

It's a recipe that's more than the sum of its parts. Where the simplicity of it is what makes it so great - chewy marinara spaghetti, baked into a delicious cheesy bechamel. Use a really good quality passata/pasta sauce, the fresher the better. To serve neatly, bake in a spring form tin & let sit for 20 minutes once it's come out of the oven, like you would with a lasagna. Bon appetit!

INGREDIENTS

• 350g spaghetti (GF or not)
• 700ml tomato pasta sauce/passata
• large handful spinach, finely chopped
• 2 tsp basil pesto
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• drizzle of garlic oil (or olive oil)
• small handful grated vegan cheese

Béchamel

• 1 large knob vegan butter
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp plain flour (GF or not)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened soy or oat milk
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp vegetable stock powder
• pepper
• large handful grated vegan cheese

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.
2. Cook your pasta according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving a splash of cooking water. Tip the pasta and the reserved cooking water back into the pot you cooked it in. Add the pasta sauce, spinach, pesto and oregano and stir to combine.
3. In a small pitcher, combine the soy/oat milk, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, stock powder, nutritional yeast & grind of pepper. Set aside.
4. To a small fry-pan, add the vegan butter, onion and garlic. Sauté on low for a few minutes until translucent and fragrant. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for a minute. Slowly add the prepared milk mixture, a splash at a time - stirring to fully combine after each addition. Repeat until all the liquid has been added, it will reach a thick white sauce consistency (it will "melt" in the oven). Take off the heat. Add the large handful of grated vegan cheese and stir to combine (it will properly melt in the oven).
5. Pour the spaghetti mixture into a greased baking dish (I used a lined 22cm/8-inch springform pan), then dollop over the cheesy béchamel. Drizzle over a little more garlic (or regular) olive oil, then sprinkle over another small handful of vegan cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes on the top shelf of the preheated oven, until golden and bubbling.
6. If you want this to slice neatly, let sit for 20 minutes before serving. Otherwise, dig in!