Good day Sunshine!
The other day, I was listening to my vinyl copy of Magical Mystery Tour after being in a mood for some M.M.T. due to Friday’s recipe. If you have ever owned a vinyl copy (or certain CD copies) of Magical Mystery Tour, you’ll know that it comes with a 28-page booklet containing song lyrics, drawings by cartoonist Bob Gibson, and scenes from the Magical Mystery Tour movie.
It had been a while since the last time that I flipped through the pages of my delicate booklet (it had seen years of wear and tear at the hands of its previous owner), so I decided to give it a look. While flipping through the colorful pages, I stumbled upon a certain page depicting a certain scene from the film…
Yes, you looked at that correctly. That is John Lennon, dressed as an Italian waiter, literally shoveling buckets of spaghetti on this woman’s plate. You’re probably gonna want some context…
All Together Now… for some history!
The Magical Mystery Tour album is actually the soundtrack to The Beatles’ third feature film, also titled Magical Mystery Tour. Magical Mystery Tour was written and directed by all four Beatles, and premiered on the BBC in the U.K. on Boxing Day (December 26th), 1967. The film centers around Ringo Starr (known in the film by his birth name, Richard Starkey) taking his aunt, Jessie (played by English actress, Jessie Robins), on a mystery tour.
In addition, this mystery tour is “magical”, as the tour is enchanted by five wizards (all four Beatles plus their road manager and close friend, Mal Evans). Lead by their tour guide, Jolly Jimmy Johnson (played by Derek Royle), and his assistant, Miss Wendy Winters (played by Miranda Forbes), they, the remaining Beatles, and a cast of zany characters find themselves doing an assortment of out-of-the-box activities, such as visiting an Army recruitment office and even going to a strip club (this was 1967, nothing was off-limits).
Upon release, Magical Mystery Tour was bombarded with negative reviews. So much so, that Paul McCartney admitted that it wasn’t a good film, and almost apologized for making it. However, Beatles fans still treasure the zaniness and creativity of the film. Additionally, the soundtrack is lauded as some of their best work, and stayed at number 1 on the Billboard Top LPs chart for eight weeks.
The scene in question today involves Aunt Jessie falling asleep on the bus while very hungry. She begins to dream about food (like I often do), more specifically: spaghetti. Aunt Jessie dreams that she is at an Italian restaurant (where people eat shirtless) with love interest Buster Bloodvessel, meanwhile the “Italian” waiter (John) begins shoveling piles of spaghetti onto her plate. She plays around with the spaghetti, and messiness ensues until she finally shouts “no more!”. I can’t find the actual scene (which is not surprising, given that the group is very protective of their work), but you can find the audio for the scene here.
This scene was inspired by an actual dream that John had had, in which the same thing happened to him. The dream amused John so much that he wrote it into the script of the film at the last minute. Though this scene may be off-putting to some, it gave me a stroke of inspiration. I set out to create a spaghetti recipe that Aunt Jessie would dream about every night.
What I love about this recipe is that it is so simple, yet so delicious. This is the perfect weeknight dinner for busy people, as they can get this on the stove and onto the plate in no time, giving them more time to work. Additionally, you can buy everything for this dish for around $15-$20 (or £12-£15 for my British readers).
This dish is also vegetarian and vegan-friendly if you omit the sausage and (if vegan) the Parmesan (and it’s still as delicious without both!)! The plate seen here is the vegetarian version that I made for something that may pop up on the blog soon…
You get a little bit of everything in this dish; the savory tomatoes and herbs, the sweet balsamic vinegar, the umami of the sausage and Parmesan, the acidity of the onion and garlic, and the touch of heat from the red pepper flakes.
All in all, this is the kind of dish that you’re gonna want to get seconds for… just don’t let Aunt Jessie get to it first!
Aunt Jessie’s Dream Spaghetti
By Abby Terrill
Makes 5 generous portions. Time: 45 minutes
For the sauce:
- 3/4 – 1 lb Italian sausage w/o casing (the type is up to you! I usually use mild. Omit for vegan and vegetarian recipe)
- Two 15 oz cans (or one 28 oz can) crushed tomatoes
- One 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 + 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small sweet yellow onion, chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/4 lb button mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 1 + 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste, depending on how spicy you’d like it)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp salt (or more to taste)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (omit for vegan recipe)
1 . Pour olive oil into pot, and brown the Italian sausage. Add in garlic, onion, bell pepper, and mushroom and sautée until onions are translucent.
2. Add in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir.
3. Add in balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, basil, parsley, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir.
4. Cover and let simmer for 35 – 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
For the pasta:
- 12 oz angel hair pasta
- 8 cups water
- 3 tbsp salt
5. Add water and salt to pot. Bring water to a rolling boil.
6. Add in pasta, cook to al dente. Drain pasta.
7. Pile noodles on plate. Add sauce and Parmesan on top.
And that’s it! If you make it, tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (Abby Terrill, @abby__terrill, and @petetownswag respectively)!
Enjoy!
Bites with The Beatles 