Fun with a spiralizer and an all-purpose tomato sauce

 

So my aunt recently gifted me a spiralizer. This thing is awesome. It slices your vegetables into a noodle shape, making for a wonderful guilt-free version of “pasta” out of zucchini, carrots, squash, and potatoes. You can also use it on cucumbers and other fruit and vegetables for a mighty fancy looking salad.

I recently made a zucchini “pasta” with my version of a pomodoro sauce that both husband and I agreed that we did not miss the real thing. For my vegan/vegeterian friends, the recipe can be easily adapted and you won’t miss out on flavor. Well, I might. I like bacon. And cheese. The sauce yields enough that you can freeze the leftovers or repurpose the next day. Here’s part 1 of how I made two meals out of sauce, zucchini, and some frozen chicken breasts.

Pomodoro Sauce:

1 large carrot
5 cloves garlic
1 large stalk celery
1 medium onion
1 tsp chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 strips bacon
1 1-inch piece parmesan cheese rind
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan for serving

Using a food processor, finely mince the carrot, onion and celery. Then mince the garlic separately. I like to do each one separately as the carrots require a lot more processing.

Render the 2 strips of bacon in a medium, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Once the bacon is rendered, remove the strips from the pot and set aside. You can have them as a snack while you’re cooking.

Add the garlic to the hot, rendered bacon fat and saute for about 1 minute. Add the onion, celery, carrot,  and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to medium and allow to cook until the vegetables soften.

Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, cheese rind, red pepper flakes and 1 tsp of the fresh basil. Stir. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Simmer for 45min to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

To make this a vegan recipe, just omit the cheese rind and bacon. Use olive oil instead of the bacon fat.

I had some fresh tomatoes on hand as well, so I chopped them and added to the sauce for texture.

Some Whole Foods will sell you a package of Parmesan cheese rinds. They are an amazing addition to soups and sauces. I just keep the rinds of the wedges of Parmesan in a Ziploc as I finish each wedge, so I always have them on hand. 

If you find that the sauce is too acidic, you can stir in a tiny bit of sugar to tone it down. 

Zucchini Pasta:

4 large zucchini, peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Spiralize the peeled zucchini

Heat the olive oil in a large pan.

Add the zucchini and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

See my next post for what I did with the leftovers!