Chicken, leek and mushroom lasagne

The perfect food for a wintry day.

You'll need:

some cooked chicken (ideally 3 or 4 chicken thighs, or whatever you've got left from a roast)
any leftover gravy
3 or 4 large leeks, cleaned and sliced
an onion, sliced
some large mushrooms, sliced
lasagne sheets
about 1/3 pint milk
a knob of butter
a tablespoon of flour
freshly grated nutmeg, black pepper, mixed herbs
grated cheese

First of all, stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C.

Then, saute the onion and leeks in a frying pan with some mixed herbs and olive oil until they soften. Remove from the pan, then do the same with the mushrooms (you may have to add a bit more olive oil).

Now comes the fun part - the layering in a baking dish. You'll need a layer of leek/onion/mushroom/cooked chicken, followed by a layer of pasta. If you have some gravy leftover from a roast, then you can drizzle this over each layer. How many layers you create depends on the size of your baking dish or tray, but you need to end with a pasta sheet on the top.

For a bechamel (white) sauce to smear over it all, you'll need to melt a knob of butter in a non-stick pan, and add a tablespoon of flour to it. Mix to a smooth paste, then gradually whisk in the milk, to avoid any lumps. Add some freshly grated nutmeg, and heat gently for 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens (you'll probably have to do a fair amount of stirring, so it doesn't catch on the bottom).

Pour the bechamel sauce over the top of the lasagne, and scatter over some grated cheese (the stronger the better). Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until the insides are bubbling and the lasagne sheets are fully cooked.

If you're short of time, don't forget you could use a small pot of creme fraiche instead of the bechamel sauce.