One of the things we try and do for our meals is to find ways to make them healthier, but still as delicious. I guess ideally we would make them healthier and even more delicious, but one thing at a time people. We've substituted celery root for potatoes in our Sheppard's pie, used this cauliflower soup as a substitute for cream and here we are subbing zucchini noodles for pasta. The "noodles" end up with a nice texture like al dente pasta and really held up well to the Bolognese
Ingredients
¼ lb bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground veal
1 lb. ground pork
1/4 lb Chicken livers diced up
1 cup beef stock
1 cup red wine
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup tomato paste
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup fresh oregano, chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp. dried oregano
½ tsp pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
Fresh nutmeg
3 large zucchinis
Directions for Sauce
Get a large Dutch oven (or heavy bottom pot) on Med heat. Add about 1 tsp EVOO, then add bacon. Cook until bacon is done and crispy (approx. 8 min). Remove bacon and excess oil. Then add 1 tbsp. of bacon fat back into the pot along with 1 tbsp. butter. Once butter froths and just starts to brown, add onion. Cook 5 min stirring often, then add shallot, garlic, pepper flakes, celery and carrot. Season everything with 1 tsp salt and some fresh grated nutmeg and cook an additional 8 min, stirring to prevent browning (some brown is OK).
Turn the heat to high and add chopped livers, ground veal and ground pork. Brown the meat for around 10 min stirring to break up any large chunks. If you notice a lot of moisture in your pot, spoon or pour some out so the meat browns and doesn't steam. Once browned add wine and deglaze the pot by scrapping the bottom. Keep the heat high and reduce it down to almost nothing.
Turn the heat down and add tomato paste, dried oregano, remaining salt and pepper (P&F Tip: when adding dried spices, make sure and crush them between two fingers before adding. This will help release their oils). Cook for 3 min to brown the tomato paste, then add beef stock, diced tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh oregano and bay leaf. BTB, RTS, and cook 2 – 4 hours on a low simmer, stirring every so often so it doesn’t burn. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Directions for the Zucchini Noodles
There are basically two types of "Noodles" you can make, one is like a spaghetti the other closer to a pappardelle. I highly recommend using a mandolin to make the noodles (or one of those veggie spiralizers). I guess you could make these by hand, but it seems like it would be very tough. If anyone does try it, shoot me an email or leave a comment on how they turned out. In terms of quantity, it is close to 1 zucchini per person (3 large zucchinis should feed 4 comfortably).
Set the mandolin up. If you have a attachment with teeth, you can use that to make the spaghetti "noodles". If not, just slice them long ways and you will get more of a pappardelle. Start with one side of the zucchini and slice into 1/8" pieces lengthwise. Go until you just start to hit the seeds, then turn it 90 degrees and slice again (you do not want the middle part with seeds, those pieces will break down when cooking). Repeat turning 2 more times.
Place the "noodles" in a colander and season liberally with salt. Let sit for 20 - 30 min over a towel so some of the moisture is pulled out. Rinse well, then dry between paper towels. You will notice the zucchini slices have shrunk from the osmosis.
Ladle a few spoon fulls of sauce into a large sauté pan on med heat. Add the "noodles" and cook them in the sauce for 3 min (do not overcook, they will break down). Serve topped with fresh parmesan and fresh basil.
