My birthday this year happened to fall on the same day as the Halloween Plant Based Picnic. Which was fab given that I (a) love halloween; and (b) love food (duh). But cooking in uni is a bit of a problem. The extent of kitchen appliances I have: 1. A kettle, 2. A mini handheld blender (held illegally) and 3. A Spiraliser (also held illegally). 

  My lovely friend Sophie was kind enough to offer her uni kitchen to me. Which was great and meant that I did not have to experiment with cooking in my itty bitty room (complete with an ultra-sensitive fire detector).

  Of course, I was going to make a savoury dish. Because as much as I love my desserts, savoury is always so much more fun to put together and devour. And it hand to have a halloween-ish twist. 

  I don't entirely know how I came up with the concept of zoodles swimming in a bloody 'beet' sauce, but I did. And I am glad! I have had a love/hate relationship with beets in the past. Some are lovely, but some too earthy and dirt-tasting. So I balanced them with the sweetness of some roasted apples which rounds off the dish perfectly. 

  I can't believe that this dish managed to snag best savoury dish of the day, given that there were so many ultra-delicious perfectly-spooky creations on offer. I am talking vegan quiches, dhals, dips and nut loaves. It must have been sheer birthday luck (!!)

Zoodle Beet Blood-lognese

Makes: 6 small side dishes

3 large-ish beetroots, precooked

2 red apples

1 small white onion

1 cup vegetable stock

Juice of 1/2 a large lemon (helps maintain the lovely beet colour)

A large handful of dill (I mean LARGE!)

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp all spice

Pink Himalayn salt, to taste

1-2 tbsp lucuma (optional but recommended!) (If not, add a drizzle of maple/rice syrup)

2 large zucchinis 

1/3 cup rice cream, to drizzle (optional)

Chop up the beets, apples and onion and boil until softened in the vegetable stock and lemon juice. Place the mixture into a blender and blitz until smooth. Return to saucepan and add in the dill, cumin, tumeric, all spice, salt. You may also add a bit more water or veggie stock at this point depending on how thick you want your soup. Let it simmer and infuse for about five minutes. In the meantime, spiralise your zucchinis. When the soup has finished simmering, take it off the heat, stir in the lucuma or syrup, then pout over the zoodles and toss to coat well. Add a drizzle of rice cream at this point if you wish