Gluten free & vegan.
A delicious meal to satisfy your pasta cravings without the food coma after. So many yummy nutrients and pretty colours. All made from scratch, no pasta sauce from a jar necessary!
This dish is so beautiful to serve, whether it's for yourself, guests, or family. Meat-eater approved too.
For the 'noodles', you can spiralize anything from zuchini to sweet potato. I use this simple spiralizer for my zuchini and it's definitely not as time-consuming as it seems.
YOU'LL NEED (3-4 servings)
5 medium-sized zuchini
2 medium-large carrots
2 stalks of celery
5-6 medium-sized fresh tomatoes
1/2 onion of choice (I usually use white)
1 block firm tofu (or other meat alternative)
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Dried or fresh oregano leaves, parsley, and thyme
Sea salt
Oil (my favourite for this recipe is olive oil or avocado oil)
To top off: More dried herbs, cayenne pepper, freshley ground peppercorn, and plant-based cheese or nutritional yeast
STEPS (30-45 minutes total)
Prepare the vegetables by spiralizing the zuchini and dicing the carrots, celery, tomatoes, and onion.
In a frying pan, heat some oil on medium-high heat. Once water dropped into the pan sizzles, add in the carrots, celery, and onion. Stir frequently.
Once the onion begins turning gold and the carrot and celery are cooked (~5 minutes), add in the tomatoes and garlic, and sprinkle some salt. Keep stirring and begin pressing on the tomato to extract the liquids (creating the 'sauce').
When the tomato is well-cooked and becomes a mushy consistency (~5 minutes), crumble in the tofu with your hands.
Toss in 1tsp-1tbsp of the oregano, parsley, and thyme leaves. Keep stirring and allow the sauce to simmer on medium-low heat.
In a separate shallow pan, heat some oil on medium-high heat and add the spiralized zuchini. Cook until the zuchini softens into a noodle-like consistency, usually around 5-7 minutes.
When the zoodles are ready, either add them directly into the frying pan with the sauce or serve (unmixed), as pictured.
Add any additional toppings to taste. I highly recommend nutritional yeast to replace cheese, as well as some cayenne pepper to give it some kick!
Enjoy!
Christine