The forecast was for fine weather with a high pressure dominating so we decided to pack up the campervan and head to the far North West of Scotland for the weekend. By 2pm on Friday afternoon we were packed and ready, and I had the ingredients for 2 new recipes to test out while we were on the road. The van kitchen is pretty well equiped, with a fridge, a gas oven, 3 gas rings on the hob and a sink. It's still a lot harder to prepare food there than in my kitchen, so I did some tasks in advance, such as grate the carrots (for the spaghetti bolognese) and puree the roasted veg (for the risotto).
We drove for 3 hours and finally parked up under the stunning scree slopes of a hill called Arkle, our destination for the next day.
After we climbed Arkle we drove the van even further North, to the foot of the 2 hills we were going to climb on Sunday. These hills were called Cranstackie and Beinn Spionnaidh. In the warmth of the evening sun I made an amazing spaghetti bolognese. It was very simple to make in the van and there was plenty to replenish our energy reserves after a full day of hill walking. The next morning we woke to a heavy frost, and even the inside windows of the van had a covering of ice. We got going quickly and had an amazing hill day with clear blue skies and views as far North as Orkney.
Ready to cook the bolognese in the van kitchen, bathed in evening sunshine.
Here is the recipe for the bolognese (serves 2):
Ingredients:
3 spring onions, green parts only, chopped
1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 courgette, finely chopped
1 pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
100g chestnuts, chopped (optional)
1 tin green lentils, rinsed
1 tin chopped tomatoes, plus half tin of water
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp tamari gluten free soy sauce
1 tsp maple syrup
Small handful basil leaves, chopped
Grind of pepper
Pinch of salt
To serve:
200g buckwheat spaghetti or brown rice pasta
Cheddar cheese
Basil leaves
Method:
Heat the oils in a large pan with the spring onion tops, courgette and pepper. Fry gently for 10 minutes.
Add all the other ingredients to the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions.
Serve topped with some grated cheddar and shredded basil leaves