Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

2017 was the year I finally got to try a spaghetti squash…. so yeah, a big year (and it’s only August!) And turns out they are a sensational base for deliciousness such as spaghetti (squash) bolognese. Let me talk you through the easy peasy process!

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Cut spaghetti squash length ways in half, remove seeds, then drizzle with olive oil and a generous sprinkle of cracked pepper and rock salt.

• Place squash face down on a tray with baking paper

• Place in oven for 35 minutes
• Get busy with the bolognese! First up, finely dice a brown onion, crush 2 cloves of garlic and sautéed in a splash of olive oil til the onion goes glossy and your kitchen starts to smell delicious.

• Add 500g of lean beef mince and brown it.

• Sprinkle on a little Vegeta, around a tablespoon or so (it’s always good to have a can of this in your cupboard).

• Add in some salt and pepper

• Here you can either add in a few cans of diced Italian tomatoes or if you have some lovely fresh ripe ones (say 4 or 5 big ones) then pop them in a Themomix or food processor, along with some fresh basil ( a good handful) and blitz together until you have a sauce. Add into your saucepan with the beef.

• Simmer until your sauce starts to reduce, stir regularly

• When the majority of liquid has been absorbed, you are ready to go!

• Grate some cheese. I like to do two types – some cheddar and some Parmesan. Mainly because I love cheese.

• Remove the squash from the oven (but leave the oven on!) and flip it over, so skin side down. It’s time to shred! Grab a fork and run it across the squash and you’ll start to see the squash look like spaghetti strands.

• It will look all roughed up like this and just shuffle it so you have a bowl in the centre and your spaghetti on the outside.

• Add a generous scoop of your bolognese into the squash and then top with a whole lot of cheese. Back into the oven until your cheese just starts to brown, around 10 minutes or so.

• When ready they’ll look like this!

• Shred some fresh basil and sprinkle on top. It’s dinner time!

• Get stuck in! I actually find a loaded half pretty darn filling, but I can vouch for leftovers the next day to definitely doing the job.