A great low carb pasta substitute
In the spirit of eating for fat-loss and as mentioned in a previous post where we covered how grains can hinder our fat loss efforts, we have a fantastic recipe for those of you who cant quite get over those pasta cravings.This is an almost perfect substitute for pasta. It’s obviously not exactly the same but it is surprisingly satisfying as an alternative to the real thing. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, experiment a bit with the sauce and find out how versatile this low carb pasta substitute is!
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
1 can of chopped tomatoes
6 medium sized fresh tomatoes
1 small punnet of fresh basil
750g Zucchini
2 Onions
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Using a potato peeler, peel the zucchini all the way round till you reach the seeds. Don’t peel over the seeds as this will cause the zucchini to become watery when cooking it. Put the peels aside as this will be used as your pasta substitute. (keep the seeded centres to use in a frittata or chilli con carne!)- Chop onions and fry till translucent
- While the onions are frying, chop tomatoes and add to onions. Fry till tomatoes are slightly cooked
- While the tomato and onion mix is cooking, chop basil leaves and then add to the mix
- Add the can of chopped tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes on a low heat
- When there are 10 minutes left for the tomato, onion & basil mix to simmer, start sautéing the zucchini peels in 2 batches. Take half of the zucchini peels and sauté with a dash of olive oil for a few minutes till the zucchini becomes slightly soft. Place the sautéed batch in a bowl and cover with a lid to keep warm. Repeat with the second half of the peels.
- Plate the zucchini and pour the ‘pasta’ sauce over. Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and serve.
- Serves 4
