January 4th is #NationalSpaghettiDay and I still think one of my favourite meals is a good old hearty Spag Bol! I’d never order it at a restaurant as I see the dish as more home comfort food, but I do like to try different fish and veggie spaghetti meals when I dine out! My favourite spaghetti dish that I’ve ever had whilst eating out is still the Mediterranean & Spicy Prawn in Tomato Sauce that I enjoyed whilst in Stalis, Crete! (Below) Yum Yum!!

 

Below are some great recipes that I have tried that are delicious and great to try at this time of year!

Vegan Lentil Ragu

Serves:  4

Cooking time: 40 minutes (add an extra 40 beforehand if you are cooking your lentils from scratch)

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 250g home cooked lentils
• 350ml passata
• Half vegetable stock cube
• 1 red chilli (deseeded if you aren’t too keen on heat)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 300g pasta

Method:

1. Boil kettle
2. Peel & dice carrots, and put them into a large pan with the oil. Cook on a medium heat whilst finely chopping the onion, and then add this to the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until the onion is browned.
3. Add cooked lentils, passata and vegetable stock cube, with a tin of hot water (use the empty passata tin), also adding the vinegar and chilli. Simmer for 25 minutes, until the ragu is thickened.
4. Cook the pasta and drain.
5. When the lentil ragu is ready, take off the heat and mash with a potato masher. Return to the heat for a few minutes.
6. Once the sauce is heated through, serve with the drained pasta.

I was surprised with this meal as I couldn’t believe that such a simple recipe could be so tasty, and weirdly it seemed quite creamy as well. I think adding a bit of garlic to the sauce or serving with Vegan garlic bread and grated Vegan cheese on top would be superb!

Pasta Primavera (Vegetarian)

Serves: 2 (with some leftovers for lunch)

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 300g fettucine or fresh tagliatelle
• 250g peas
• 250g asparagus
• 1 red onion
• 15g butter
• Olive oil
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp creme fraiche
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• Grated parmesan
• Basil leaves

Method:

1. Add the pasta to a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water. Stir once, bring back to the boil and simmer for approx 12 minutes. Drain and leave to one side. Use the pan for step 3.
2. Meanwhile put the peas and asparagus in another pan and cover with boiling water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then drain.
3. Cook the red onion, chopped, in 15g butter and a dash of olive oil until soft. Add the  cherry tomatoes, halved and cook for a further minute.
4. Add to the pan the lemon zest, lemon juice, a further dash of olive oil, creme fraiche and dijon mustard and stir well.
5. Add the drained pasta and veg into the large saucepan, mixing everything together and heating everything through.
6. Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan and basil leaves.

Beefy Butternut Squash (From Joe Wicks’ The Fat Loss Plan, slightly tweaked)

Serves: 2

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Coconut oil
• 500g lean beef steak mince
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 3 tablespoon tomato puree
• Salt & pepper
• Large handful of basil, chopped, plus extra for garnish
• 100g mascarpone cheese
• 250g ready-made butternut squash noodles or courgetti

Method:

1. Melt the oil in a wide non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the beef mince and stir-fry for 3 – 4 minutes, or until sealed and browned.
2. Stir in the garlic, chilling flakes, tomatoes and tomato puree.  Stir and cook over a medium heat for about 6 – 8 minutes, ensure it is bubbling.
3. Season well, remove from the heat and stir in the basil and mascarpone. Cover and keep warm.
4. Cook the butternut squash noodles according to packet instructions, and pile them into your warmed serving plates/bowls.
5. Spoon over the beefy sauce and top with basil leaves.

Haddock Linguine with Tomatoes & Chilli (Recipe from Gousto)

Serves: 2

Cooking time: 20 minutes (including prep)

Ingredients:

• 200g haddock bites
• 200g linguine
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 40g clotted cream
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove
• 120g cherry tomatoes
• 5g chives
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• Coconut oil and salt and pepper

Method:

1. Boil a kettle. Heat a large wide-based pan with 1 tbsp coconut oil over a high heat. Pat the haddock bites dry with kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper. Once hot, add them to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, turning halfway, then transfer them to a plate and keep the pan for later.
2. Meanwhile, add the linguine to a pot of boiled water with a pinch of salt, bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 8-10 mins or until cooked with a slight bite. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
3. Reboil a kettle. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
4. Return the pan to a medium heat, add more oil if its looking a little dry. Once hot add the chopped garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 min. Add the halved cherry tomatoes with a very generous pinch of salt and cook for a further 2 mins.
5. Meanwhile, combine the tomato paste in 200ml boiled water. This is your tomato stock. Chop the chives finely.
6. Add the Shaoxing wine to the pan and cook for 30 seconds then pour in the tomato stock. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until reduced to a pasta sauce-like consistency. Season with a pinch of pepper and a generous pinch of salt and remove from the heat. Stir through the clotted cream and half of the chopped chives.
7. Add the drained linguine and haddock bites to the sauce and give everything a good mix, this is your spicy haddock linguine!
8. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle over there maiming chopped chives, enjoy!

Comfort good at its best, I love a Spicy pasta dish! Great for slurping up on an evening.

 

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If you would like to contact me regarding my blog / ideas on where to eat/what to cook, or would like to work with me (advertising/reviews/publishing recipes/other), then please feel free to email me on jen@jensfoodblog.com

Happy munching!

Jen

@jensfoodblog

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