Eat Healthy: Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese A la Jenni July 23, 2011
I want to dedicate this post to the “Divine Diva” Ms. Zsazsa Padilla.
I had the privilege of styling Zsaszsa for the variety show, “ASAP” a few months back. It was during that time too that she was renovating her house. She shared with me that she was she can’t wait to move to her family’s new home.
A few weeks ago, she tweeted that she was shopping for kitchenware as her house is finally done! Congrats, Zsa P.!
A few days ago, I uploaded a picture of my leftover dinner: “Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese A la Jenni” on Instagram and I noticed that she “liked” the photo. Aww… So, here’s a healthy recipe dedicated to one of the women I look up to! She is the epitome of beauty and grace and a certified gay icon to boot! Ikaw na, Zhing!
Dear “Zsazhing“, I hope you’ll try this recipe in your new kitchen. Luto-lutuan lang ang peg! I miss you!
Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese A la Jenni
Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Garlic
Milk or soy milk
Fresh basil
Dried Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Muscovado sugar
Spaghetti noddles
For my baby Dylan, I buy Belle France alphabet pasta at Rustan's. If you can't find alphabet pasta, you cant break spaghetti noodles into small pieces.
To create a meat-like texture, I use carrots, green or red bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, and Swiss mushroom or Portobello mushrooms (the mushrooms are essential to this recipe as it will give that "meaty" taste to the sauce).
I prefer using a combination of canned whole peeled tomatoes and fresh tomatoes for this recipe.
Easy peasy:
Step 1: Chop the vegetables finely.
Step 2: Saute the garlic in EVOO
Step 3: Add the canned tomatoes and mash them. Bring to a boil then simmer for 6-7 min.
Step 4: Add the veggies
Step 5: The dried spices, salt, pepper, and Muscovado sugar to taste.
Tip: If you’re cooking for kids, hold the pepper. If you’re like my son Dylan who can handle a bit of spice, use a pinch of white pepper instead of black ground pepper.
Step 6: Add 2-3 tbsp of milk.
Important: For strict vegetarians, use soy milk.
Tip: Once the sauce is cooked, I separate a batch for Dylan. I then add a bit of cayenne pepper on the leftover sauce for the grown-up’s batch.
I find that adding a few tablespoons of milk to my tomato sauce makes it creamy and cuts the acidity.
I keep a separate batch for my baby Dylan.
I cook enough sauce for a week and store them in meal-size batches in the fridge. Dylan's nanny just heats up on the stove top a batch every meal.
A fun and healthy meal for kids!
Tip: Once you’ve separated a batch for your baby, you can add cayenne pepper to the grown-ups’ batch. S bit of spice can really make a difference in this sauce.
Use the alphabet pasta for kids.
Cook durum or wheat spaghetti for grown-ups.
Step 7: Once the past has cooked (aldente), leave a bit of the pasta water in the pot and add a ladle of the sauce. By doing so, the pasta will absorb the flavor of the sauce.
Garnish with fresh basil and serve with a smile! 
Comments (3)
Yumyum!
Nothing like homemade pasta sauce!
My 2 year old picky eater’s review after his first bite, “Yummy, yummy!”. He happily finished his meal.
Thanks for the recipe.
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