This dish lands in a bowl at least once a week in my home, especially in the colder months. It comes on those evenings when you all you feel like is a juicy bowl of rich, red tomato sauce bursting with flavour and freshness, crowned upon a bed of slippery warm just-cooked pasta.
Traditional beef mince spaghetti bolognaise is one of the meaty dishes I miss the most, and was a revered dish of mine when I used to cook for my parents at home. Over the past few years I have worked and re-worked my vegetarian recipe, that now I don’t even think twice of the meat version. The secret is adding in the Bulgur Wheat – which adds a sense of soothing bulk to the body of the sauce. Its texture too is similar to that of minced meat when it’s all smothered in sauce and is a whole-wheat grain that is high in fiber and low in fat – so pretty guilt free as far as carbs go!
What I love most about this dish is how comforting it is, every mouthful is different and moreish than the last. I always like to add a spoon or two of the hot water the pasta was boiled in to the sauce, which loosens it up nicely, whilst not watering down the flavour. This recipe is quick to make, and also versatile in that I use whatever veg I have in my pantry to combine the bulk of the content, but I do find that the veg I have listed works best.
The meaning behind the name of this pie lies with the manner in which my loved ones tend to devour it – like a suckling pig in medieval times. Piggy aside, here is a recipe to satisfy even the staunchest of carnivores – and it’s not a total frenzy for the cook in the kitchen either! Naturally, I take the easy route and buy ready-made puff pastry from Woolies, (I always have at least 5 rolls of this in my freezer at all times) – you never know when the craving for soft, buttery, flaky pastry may strike! The pie is best served with a fresh side salad of peppery rocket, slithers of cucumber and some snipped salad onions.
As unappetizing as this recipe title may seem, you have my word it is the total opposite. Melting mature cheddar blending into soft buttery spiced beans, with a burst of ripe tomato and crunch of toasted seeds all wrapped up in a spongy ciabatta…salivating yet?. I love experimenting with making vegetarian burgers – the options are endless and I am always striving to make ‘the perfect burger’ – this comes pretty close.
The rice content in this burger is primarily to help hold the patty together on cooking – but I also love the way it tends to absorb all the flavours around it. The tahini paste, although not essential if you can’t get hold of any, is the base of any good hummus recipe – and thus, a great addition inside this burger. See…I told you it’s good! Go to the full recipe…
Traditional beef mince spaghetti bolognaise is one of the meaty dishes I miss the most, and was a revered dish of mine when I used to cook for my parents at home. Over the past few years I have worked and re-worked my vegetarian recipe, that now I don’t even think twice of the meat version. The secret is adding in the Bulgur Wheat – which adds a sense of soothing bulk to the body of the sauce. Its texture too is similar to that of minced meat when it’s all smothered in sauce and is a whole-wheat grain that is high in fiber and low in fat – so pretty guilt free as far as carbs go!
