Comforting Cauliflower Bolognese
Cauliflower is the key to creating some gorgeous veggie versions of our favourite comfort foods. Like this lovely bolognese!
As always, make sure you season it to your tastes, and play around with how creamy you want it. Check at the bottom for some variations!
Protect the cauliflower at all costs.
That little chunky baby can trick you in to thinking you are having minced meat - I am serious! My boyfriend was sceptical when I made this the first time, but he was quickly convinced and now this is one of our favourites. This is such a good example of how it is the flavours around the meat that are exciting, not necessarily the actual meat itself. I am not vegan or vegetarian, but I do believe that if we all cut back on our meat intake it will be good both for us and our planet (well, it’s not so much a belief as it is, y’know… a fact). I have certainly moved way closer to a vegetarian diet since getting in to cooking from scratch - vegetables are just more fun to play with. This one is obviously very easy to keep vegan, you can just sprinkle some vegan parmesan on top (or scrap it if you must!). For the stock, I have put different choices for you, if you are using cauliflower more for convenience and budget than for the veggie reasons, then it’s of course an option to use beef stock - and it does get you a bit closer to that feeling of having a regular bolognese. So that’s a little cheat code for you right there - up to you whether you use it! I’m going to get out in front of any Italian readers or bolognese snobs, I know this is not building on the recipe of a genuine Italian bolognese, more the quick and dirty version some of us heathens have developed as a quick dinner - but we all know and love it, so I make no apologies!
Comforting cauliflower bolognese and spaghetti
Serves 2
Olive oil for cooking (and the spaghetti)
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1 small cauliflower head
A pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
Spices (optional): paprika, chilli powder, Everyday Spice or similar (to taste)
Tomato purée
Stock: vegetable or beef (cube or pot)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp of sugar or honey
Oregano (or similar herbs/herb mix)
Optional: a dash of hot sauce or Tabasco sauce and/or some fresh chilli
Spaghetti of your choice
Cheese (parmesan or just some cheddar is fine, vegan options are absolutely fine too!)
Cut the onion into small pieces and cook over low heat in a pan with olive oil. After a few minutes, add the garlic, celery and carrot, all finely chopped, and add a bit of water. If you like a bit of spice (I do!), you can add some fresh chilli at this point too. Totally up to you!
Rinse, then cut or rip the cauliflower head in to small bits and put in a blender for a few seconds until it’s gone pretty mushy - it can still have some bigger chunks, it depends how fine you want your bolognese (“real” bolognese, as your annoying friend who’s been to Italy many times will tell you, is cooked for hours and so the meat is really fine - however most of us peasants are used to just regular mince in a quick and dirty version of bolognese). If you don’t have a blender, you can chop it up with a knife, cauliflower is pretty easy to chop finely, so don’t worry! Add it in the pan and increase the heat a little bit, and add some more water. If it feels too wet, don’t worry, we do need a bit of water to be soaked up by the cauliflower so it softens properly.
Get the spaghetti ready here, cook according to the instructions. If you are cooking fresh spaghetti it probably needs less time and you can leave it to even later! The bolognese wont hurt from simmering for a while so don’t rush that part.
Add some seasoning here: salt and pepper to taste, and if you want to add some more kick to it, things like chilli powder can be nice. A bit of paprika adds colour, and some Everyday Spice is lovely. You can play here and find what works for you! I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Mix in a dash of tomato purée and add stock of your choice, if you are using a cube you can drizzle in the whole thing, if you use a pot then half is plenty. Keep in mind when you salt this dish that stock is quite salty, so you might need less salt than you think.
Mix everything well and let it simmer for a good while on medium heat. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and mix well. At this point, have a little taste and see if you want to add more spices, usually it’s nice to add some sweetness to it here with a bit of sugar or honey. Add some oregano or other Mediterranean herbs here. You are the boss, so go for what fits your taste! I love adding a dash of hot sauce or Tabasco, it’s lovely and spicy as well as adding even more lovely tomato!
When the spaghetti is cooked, tip it in to a colander and add a splash of olive oil and mix well.
Serve up the spaghetti and add the bolognese. Grate some cheese on top, drizzle a bit more pepper over it and if you have it, place a basil leaf (or a little cherry tomato) on top because you’re fancy. Yuuuummmmm!!!
PS: if you want to go for a more creamy, mild sauce, you can add a splash of milk, a dash of crème fraiche or a bit of cheese in the sauce.
PS PS: Doooon’t worry if you are stuck with leftover bolognese - you can use this for so much, the simplest is obviously to just reheat the next day because YASSS lunch, but you can also easily transform this bolognese in to lasagne filling or cauliflower tacos!
Also, for my carnivores, I hope it goes without saying that you can make this with beef or other minced meat should you wish to do so. Just make sure your meat is cooked well with all the other ingredients before the chopped tomatoes go in, and reduce the amount of water.
I’d love to hear and see how you got on, share your recipe with me on Instagram and tag @TheFromScratchBody and hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
