I hope you all had a fabulous Easter long weekend filled with chocolate and family time, and also a great Anzac Day.  Did anyone go to a dawn service?  I always find the bugle calls so haunting, and can get quite teary at the sound.

Given I’ve been on school holidays (sadly not holidays full stop, still had to work!), I had time to do some baking; pink, purple and yellow velvet truffles – all 90 of them! – for Easter, and the traditional (though healthy) Anzac biscuits I baked on the weekend.

I had invited Karinda for a roast lunch and had planned on doing a slow cooked balsamic lamb which is simply scrumptious.  Lamb must have been very popular as the supermarket I get my food delivered from were sadly out of stock.  No lamb for me.  Onto plan B. I had a spaghetti squash in the cupboard – have any of you heard of it, or tried it?  They’re very much like pumpkins (perhaps they are a pumpkin – anyone know?), and look similar to a butternut pumpkin, but the difference is the end result.  It’s shreddable with a fork, and resembles strands of spaghetti.  I’ve seen recipes on Pinterest and other blogs popping up over the last few years, but the squash weren’t available in Australia until recently, and when I enquired, I discovered they’re only available in Autumn.  I was so ridiculously excited when I finally found one to try.  Thank you Antico’s in Northbridge!

Now, I realise Bolognese is never traditionally served with spaghetti, but my new plan wasn’t a traditional Bolognese sauce anyway, so I thought I’d serve the ‘spaghetti’ from the squash with a ‘Bolognese’ sauce.  A healthy vegetarian sauce, one even my Mama could have (no mushrooms, not sure how Mum can’t like mushrooms, but there you go).

Having never prepared spaghetti squash before, I had to research how to do so, and apparently, the best way so it isn’t watery is to cut it in half lengthwise (they’re damn hard to cut, let me tell you.  I have seen another version where you microwave it for 5 minutes or so prior to cutting, to make it easier, will try that next time), brush each half with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast at 200degrees celcius for 40mins.  So really, Karinda still had a roast!

Now onto the Bolognese sauce…the recipe somewhat became my own, but was inspired by other recipes that I found on Pinterest, using quinoa and lentils, in addition to the vegetables.  When I brought it to the table, Karinda very much enjoyed the smell, saying it smells like a Bolognese sauce!  It was really tasty too, both of us enjoying it very much – highly recommended – and it’s healthy and filling too.  What more can you ask?  To wash it down, we had Piper Heidsieck Champagne (are you seeing the same trend I am?!), superb.

And then as I had Monday off as well, I treated myself to French crepes and yes, more champagne, at Four Frogs in Mosman.  If you love crepes, sweet or savoury, I truly suggest you go.

Recipe

Serves 4
Cooking time: 45mins to an hour, including prep

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 large French shallot (eschalot), finely chopped
1 800g can whole or diced Italian tomatoes
1 400g can brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon red vinegar
1 teaspoon each dried parsley and oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (1/8 cup uncooked)
Grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Method

Whilst the spaghetti squash is cooking, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the carrots and shallot (I blitzed both in a food processor, much easier than chopping or grating by hand!) and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, cooked quinoa (or add post blitzing if you like), red vinegar, and the herbs, and cook for approx. 15 mins, stirring occasionally.  If using whole tomatoes, squash them a little as they cook to break them down.

Once cooked, remove the bay leaf and blitz the sauce a little with a hand blender.  It changes the consistency and makes it more ‘meaty’, though I left some lentils whole, so didn’t totally blitz it. Stir through the quinoa if you haven’t already, season to taste and heat the sauce again so it’s nice and hot.

Shred the spaghetti squash with a fork, and divide between bowls.  Top with the sauce, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and voila, you have vegetarian spaghetti Bolognese! Buon Appetito!

NOTE: I think finely chopped soaked dried porcini mushrooms (about 10g dried porcini reconstituted in 125ml boiling water) and their soaking liquid would add another level of flavour to this dish, and you could also sneak in more veg if you blitz some red capsicum and even a stick or two of celery and cook with the other vegetables.  I’m trying this next time for sure, if I’m not making it for you Mum.