One of the saving graces of the Whole30 program is that you can eat bacon. Yes, you read that right, you can eat bacon. It has to be nitrate and sugar free, but that suits me just fine.
I’m trying to mix up what we’re eating so every day isn’t chicken and veg followed by chicken and veg. It helps make the time go faster when you have new dishes to look forward to making and eating. I’ve been meaning to try making zucchini noodles, or zoodles as the converts call them, and this month presented the perfect opportunity. I ordered a snazzy little vegetable spiralizer to create said noodles. I only took a tiny chunk out of my finger in the process so I’m going to call it a success.
Ok, back to the bacon. I decided to make a tomato based sauce to go with my zoodles and thought it would be fun to model a traditional arrabbiata style sauce. Throwing in some bacon and olives for good measure. The sauce was just the right balance between salty, sweet and spicy.
And now I have tons of leftover sauce to play with. That is if Olive doesn’t drink it cold out of the Tupperware first!
Zucchini Arrabiata with Bacon & Olives
INGREDIENTS
- 4 zucchinis, spiralized
- 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- 1 red onion, diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 small carrots, chopped
- 1 pack Wilshire bacon, chopped
- 1 can black olives
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
METHOD
- Fry your bacon in a pan until crispy, set aside on a paper towel to soak up the grease.
- In the pan with the bacon fat fry onion, garlic, carrot, spices and seasonings.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes and paste. Simmer on a low heat for at least 30 minutes.
- I chose to blend the sauce into a purée but you can also leave it chunky.
- In a separate pan fry the zoodles in a little olive oil until they soften – about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place on paper towels to soak up any liquid.
- Stir bacon and olives into your sauce. Add zucchini, stir, and plate.
epicuriousbrit 