Black bean spaghetti, a red sauce with meat, roasted bell peppers and tomatoes, and spiders carved from black olives.
For a Halloween meal, this black spaghetti makes an impression as soon as it reaches the table : “witch hair” under a thick red sauce, with olive spiders perched on top. Roasted bell peppers mellow the tomatoes, while ground meat gives the sauce body. For 4 people, allow about 1 hour, including half an hour in the oven for the peppers. This recipe joins my collection of keto main dishes.
What Is This Halloween Meal ?
It’s a pasta dish in disguise : black bean spaghetti forms the dark base, a sauce of ground meat, roasted bell peppers and tomatoes brings the red, and sliced black olives become spiders. Each olive makes one spider, one half for the body and the other cut into 8 legs.
The sauce needs to stay thick enough to hold the spiders without letting them slide off, and the black strands should remain visible around the red sauce. With 12 olives, each plate gets three spiders.
Where Does This Dish Come From ?
This is a Halloween creation, designed to be recognizable at first glance. Beneath the decorations is a familiar meat sauce : softened shallots, pressed garlic, crumbled ground meat, then tomatoes and peeled bell peppers.
Black bean spaghetti provides the dark color. Cooking times vary by brand, so the package instructions are your best guide.
The Main Ingredients
You will need 4 servings of black bean spaghetti and 600 g of ground meat, half beef and half pork, or another meat of your choice. The meat gives the sauce umami and a tender texture. Crumble it finely so it spreads evenly through the pasta.
The 2 roasted red bell peppers add sweet, caramelized notes, while the 4 peeled tomatoes provide acidity and color. You will also need 4 cloves of garlic, 2 shallots (or onions), salt, black pepper and 12 black olives, preferably firm and pitted. For a quicker sauce, tomato paste or passata can replace the fresh tomatoes and bell peppers.
Cook with butter, ideally from grass-fed cows, or with avocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil.
Cooking and Serving Tips
Roast the bell peppers on the oven rack at 220 °C for half an hour, until the skin blackens, then let them cool wrapped in aluminum foil : this makes the skin easier to remove. Briefly plunge the tomatoes into boiling water, then peel the tomatoes and peppers, remove the seeds and drain the pieces. Cook the shallots until translucent and then lightly caramelized, add the garlic and meat, and drain off the excess fat before adding the vegetables. Let the sauce thicken over low heat, then season with salt and pepper.
Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions just before serving, and cut the olives in half lengthwise in the meantime. When plating, leave the black strands showing around the sauce and place the spiders on top, cut side against the sauce. A Japanese cabbage salad or a green salad rounds out the meal ; allow for 476 kcal per serving.
For everyday keto cooking, here are all my low-carb recipes.
Ingredients
- 4 servings black bean spaghetti
- 600 g ground meat half beef and half pork, or another meat of your choice
- 2 bell peppers red
- 4 tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots (onions)
- 12 olives black
- a pinch salt Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt
- a pinch pepper black
- Butter (from grass-fed cows), for cooking
- Avocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil as an alternative
Easy-to-Make Sauce
- Tomato paste or passata in place of the fresh tomatoes and bell peppers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Place the bell peppers on the oven rack. If desired, place aluminum foil underneath to catch any dripping juices. Roast for half an hour until blackened. Then let cool (preferably wrapped to make the skins easier to remove, for example in the same foil used to catch the juices).2 bell peppers
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Briefly dip the tomatoes into the boiling water. Then let cool.4 tomatoes
- Finely slice the shallots. Heat the frying pan and sauté the shallots until translucent. Then lower the heat slightly and let them caramelize lightly.2 shallots, Butter, Avocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil
- Press the garlic and add it along with the ground meat. Cook the meat all the way through, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain off any excess liquid or fat if needed.4 cloves garlic, 600 g ground meat
- Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes and bell peppers. Remove the seeded parts and cut into pieces. Let drain briefly or pat dry. Then add to the ground meat. Mix well, then reduce the heat. Let the sauce thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.a pinch salt, a pinch pepper, Tomato paste or passata
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions.4 servings black bean spaghetti
- Meanwhile, cut the olives in half lengthwise. Use one half for the body, and cut the other half into 8 legs.12 olives
