Comfort food.
It varies from person to person and country to country.
I, personally, have never seen the over-the-top appeal of Mac & Cheese.
It’s good, yes; comforting, probably; but something to order in a restaurant? I don’t think so!
Something to put lobster in (shudder)?!?!? Why would I do that to lobster?!?
When I’m feeling a bit under the weather and am craving comfort food I always opt for something tomato-based: chili, pizza, tomato soup, pasta…..
So, it seems do the British. For them SpagBol is their Mac & Cheese. (They also like ‘Beans in Tomato Sauce on Toast – go figure.)
I’ve had ‘SpagBol’ in London. It more closely resembles my mother’s ‘Spaghetti’, made with tomato soup, then a proper Ragu Bolognese. (I’ll post that recipe soon.)
Why am I telling you this?
Because this is not a proper ‘Bolognese’ sauce, nor is it served on spaghetti.
I realize that two wrongs don’t make a right…..
But this is fairly close in flavor to the Italian for a quick & easy version.
So…. I guess this would be SpagSquaBol.
Spaghetti Squash Bolognese
Total time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- 2oz (60gr) dry-cured ham, like Prosciutto
- 12oz (360gr) ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) beef stock
- 2 cups (15oz, 450gr) whole tomatoes
- 2 tbs tomato paste
- 1 tsp smokey paprika
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- a pinch of nutmeg
- freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions:
- Squash: Cut the spaghetti squash in half the short way and scoop out the seeds.
- Place cut-side down in a baking dish and bake for 45 minutes at 400F, or until the shell pierces easily.
- Using a fork, scrape out the strands of squash and put into 2 flattish bowls.
- Sauce: Heat oil in a large skillet.
- Add onion, pepper and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add beef, ham, garlic and sauté until cooked through and brown, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, herbs and nutmeg.
- Bring to a boil, stir well, cover partially, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To serve: Spoon sauce on spaghetti squash, sprinkle Parmesan and serve.
I had a lovely email today, from the mountains in Spain, wishing us all a Happy New Year.
And showing off the new Leonberger puppy.
I don’t think they would mind if I shared one of the pics.
That is Baloo, at around 11 weeks, teasing Ghengis, the brother to my two dogs.
So you get a proper perspective…. Here’s Ghengis last summer surveying the tables for the party:
He’s a big boy….
No, we do not need one of these…..
“No, we do not need one of these…..” Famous last words. I think if you ever wanted to break a New Year’s resolution, that’s a dog worth breaking it.
I don’t know what to say about comfort food. Or what would be mine. I know ma femme’s would be wine and probably something with rice. There was an udon bowl in Japan that was pretty good for cold nights, for those both healthy or sick. Ginseng tea worked, but no better than American bourbon. I think that when I’m sick the best food is no food for some reason. Maybe I haven’t found a good comfort food.
That puppy is a whopper. So gorgeous, both of them in fact.
Dan, I think if / when our friend has Leonberger pups I will NOT visit. I said NOT! A Hot Irish (whiskey with lemon and sugar) is also very comforting. The second one even more so.
Kate, I’m both looking forward to and dreading meeting the new pup!