Sexy Zucchini Linguini with Meat-a-balls
My husband and I have been on the paleo eating plan for the past couple weeks. Our incentive? The paleo plan is amazing for your body and fertility. Paleo = no dairy, no gluten & no sugar. The first week was super hard with intense cravings and achy headaches, but I'm happy to say it's getting easier. I still have moments of weakness, but have yet to give in.
Lucky for me, there are still things you can make that taste unreal like this Sexy Zucchini Linguini that is so satisfying and fun to make. You will need a Spiralizer that I bought here. In our house, this cooking tool is not a fad. I have made so many healthy and delicious dishes with it.
Serves: 2
Ingredients: (I do my very best to buy all organic)
500 grams of lean ground beef
1/4 rice flour (you can use panko breadcrumbs if you're okay with gluten)
1 egg
1 tsp dried oregano
2-3 tbsp of fresh herbs (I used oregano & parsley)
1 onion finely chopped
3-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
28 oz can of tomatoes (whole, crushed or diced)
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 medium sized zucchini
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp of capers
3 tbsp chopped olives (any kind you like)
Directions:
Set oven to 350'F. Mix first four ingredients together & half of the fresh herb mixture in a medium sized bowl. Reserve the other half of herbs for later.
Form into medium sized meatballs and place on a plate.
Heat 2 tbsp of coconut oil in a medium sized sauce pan on medium high heat. Place meatballs in there to brown for 7-10 minutes, gently rotating them every couple of minutes. We are not trying to cook the meatballs here. Just brown them.
Place the browned meatballs on an oiled glass baking sheet & set aside. Reserve sauce pan.
Chop onions and garlic and place in the reserved sauce pan. Set on medium heat and sprinkle with pinch of salt and the red pepper flakes. Cook until softened. Roughy 5-7 minutes.
Pour in can of tomatoes. Use your immersion blender to puree the pasta sauce (If you don't have one, you can use a blender) Bring to boil then simmer. Place meatballs in the oven for 15 minutes.
While all the flavours are coming together, it's time to spiralize the zucchini!
Once done, add zucchini to pasta sauce. You'll want enough liquid to cover the zucchini in order for it to cook, so you may need to add 1/4 cup of (chicken, beef or veggie) stock to the mix.
Cook on medium heat for 7-10 minutes.
Once meatballs are done, take them out to rest for a couple minutes.
Split cooked zucchini on two plates. Place 3-4 meatballs on each plate. Top with more tomato sauce. Mix together reserved fresh herbs, chopped olives, capers and lemon zest and garnish for extra freshness.
And Voila! No guilt Linguini with Meat-a-ball!