Zoodles and Bolognese

Hello hungry internet peeps! I have another recipe for you today... Zoodles and Bolognese sauce. This is my absolute favorite sauce, and when I discovered my food allergies, I was heart-broken because I couldn't have pasta anymore. How do you eat bolognese sauce without pasta? But then I discovered the beauty of vegetable noodles (like today's zoodles!), spaghetti squash, and polenta (for those people who can do corn).

So this recipe I'm sharing with you today is Paleo and AIP-friendly. The origin of the recipe is Mario Batali's "Babbo" cookbook, but I have had to alter the original recipe to make it allergy-friendly for me. If you don't have a gluten issue, please feel free to use regular noodles. This sauce works great with tagliatelle or pappardelle noodles, penne, or even spaghetti. If you can't do tomato paste, you can use canned pumpkin, but it will change the flavor a bit.

Start with the freshest, healthiest options you can find. Except the Pancetta. Just do it. It's worth it. I make this in a 6 quart dutch oven. Any large stock pot will work, but make sure it's large. This recipe makes a ton. :) It freezes well, though, so don't let that be a deterrent.

So I start with onions, carrots, celery and garlic. I sweat it with some olive oil.

Then I add in the proteins and keep stirring until they are browned.

Then the rest of the ingredients... wine, tomato paste, coconut milk and spices. Then let it simmer for an hour and a half. The smell will drive you crazy! This sauce smells so good.

I used zucchini to make my noodles. I like to call them Zoodles. But you can do this with a spiralizer, or you can use a mandolin to make them more like flat tagliatelle noodles. I steamed the noodles before serving, too.

Zoodles and Bolognese

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

5 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1 lb ground beef (or veal would work well if you have access to ground veal)

1 lb ground pork

4 oz Pancetta (or slab bacon, ground or finely chopped)

1 12 oz can tomato paste

1 cup Coconut Milk (I recommend using the So Delicious brand, not the canned versions for this recipe)

1 cup dry White Wine (if you don't do wine, you can sub chicken broth, but I recommend the wine...)

1 tsp Thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

Zucchini for zoodles - each zucchini makes about 1 1/2 cups of zoodles

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a heavy 6 to 8 quart stock pot. Add the chopped onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the meats and stir into the vegetables. Brown over high heat, making sure you stir frequently so the meat doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste, coconut milk, white wine and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for an hour and a half. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the zoodles, use a spiralizer or mandolin to turn the zucchini into noodles. Steam for about 15 minutes prior to serving. You want the noodles al dente.

Serve the bolognese over the noodles.

And then eat the hell out of it. It's that good.