I doubted anything could beat a steaming bowl of spaghetti bolognese. But then I scaled it up, added cheese and converted it into a big bubbling pasta bake and realised – yes, it’s possible.

This is an excellent dish to assemble ahead and then bake on demand, perhaps to give to flu-ridden friends with a houseful of hungry teenagers or to take to a pot luck dinner. You can also assemble it in single-serve ceramic dishes and freeze them. Imagine how smug you will feel, knowing you have a stash of these in your freezer to heat anytime the mood strikes.

And because there’s nothing worse than a dry pasta bake, I’ve devised a specific method to maximise the dispersion of oozing cheese layers and ensure you get layers of meat sauce.