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–+ servings
Zucchini Noodles with Meatballs and Marinara

Zucchini Pasta and Meatballs

Servings: 4
Author: Mia Staysko
A delicious way to enjoy the spaghetti and meatballs experience without the carby pasta
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Ingredients

For the Pasta

  • 4 large zucchini
  • Salt

For the Meatballs

  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 Tbsp warm water
  • 2 lb best quality lean ground beef
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 4 large cloves garlic minced
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 tps red pepper flakes or more to taste
  • 2 tsp italian herb blend or Winter Stewing Blend

For the Marinara Sauce

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large can organic diced tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp dried parsley
  • 1 Tbsp dried basil
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste or to taste

Instructions

For the Pasta

  1. Using a julienne peeler, peel strips of zucchini into a colander. Start on one side and when you hit the core (the part where you start to see the seeds) move 1/4 turn and begin again, making your way around the zucchini. Save the cores for another use.
  2. Between each zucchini sprinkle salt onto the zucchini and gently distribute so it is fairly evenly covered.
  3. Place your colander over a small bowl to catch the water that will sweat out of the squash and leave on counter for at least 30 minutes. Rinse.
  4. If you are in a hurry dump zucchini onto paper towels or a clean kitchen towel and pat dry. If you've got the time, you can also just leave the squash in the colander on the counter or in the fridge to further dry. I usually lift and redistribute the squash a bit so that the inner parts get a chance to dry as much as possible before cooking.
  5. When you are ready to cook the pasta, place all of the squash into a large non-stick frying pan over med-high heat and dry sauté for about 3 minutes, until hot and al dente but not mushy and overcooked.

For the Meatballs

  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. Dissolve baking soda in warm water.
  3. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix gently to distribute. Using your hands is easiest.
  4. Form into whatever size meatballs you like best (I like them to be hearty so about 1 1/4" round works for me). Work gently so as not to compact the meat too much.
  5. Place meatballs onto a baking rack over a baking sheet, spacing evenly. Do not crowd them or they won't brown on all sides.
  6. Place into oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes (depending on meatball size) until thoroughly cooked. Do not overcook or your meatballs will be dry, especially if you've used lean beef.
  7. Add meatballs to marinara sauce for a few minutes to reheat just before serving

For the Marinara

  1. Heat a large frying pan over med heat
  2. Add olive oil
  3. Add garlic and sauté briefly, do not allow garlic to burn
  4. Add diced tomatoes and stir, bring to a boil
  5. Add all dried herbs and anchovy paste. Stir to combine then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
  6. For this recipe you may decide to add your cooked meatballs to the sauce to heat them and distribute the flavours. Do so for the last 5 minutes or so.

Recipe Notes

This recipe can be completely deconstructed. You can use all components together, or you can use each yummy part for other recipes. For example, the marinara could be used over shrimp, the pasta with a different sauce and the meatballs as an appetizer with a sauce or glaze. Get creative!