Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Perfect Paleo Pasta


I am married to an Italian and he loves his Italian comfort food. I also have always been a fan, as well. In fact, spaghetti with meat sauce used to be my Birthday dinner of choice. When I became a vegetarian I switched to Pomodoro sauce, and always made sure to have it covered with cheese. While I always got a stomach ache after eating pasta, I figured I must have simply over-indulged. Little did I know that my intestines had a FIERCE aversion to grains.

Enter the joy of Spaghetti squash.

Source


If you have never cooked with this amazing fruit (yes, squash is a fruit, not a vegetable), you are missing out. I have loved spaghetti squash for years and each fall I re-discover its glories; however, it is now the most perfect paleo pasta! When I saw one at the market the other day, I placed it in my cart with gleeful anticipation.

While I, sadly, had no meat on hand, I decided to make a batch of marinara sauce. If you have never made homemade pasta sauce—you are missing an amazingly easy and delicious experience. Here are the ingredients, minus the onion and red pepper flakes. 



I always keep a bag of frozen onions in my freezer because I HATE chopping onions because I can never get the smell off of my hands. They no longer make me cry, but Bath and Body Works is definitely not rushing to market an onion lotion anytime soon!

It was seriously as easy as 1, 2, 3:
1)      Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes
2)      Add all other ingredients
3)      Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Done and Done.

Voila! You are left with a pan full of tomato goodness. 



I seriously eat this by the spoonful. It is amazing both hot or cold. And it is excellent over spaghetti squash (or pasta!).



Recipe for Sally Anne's Quick and Easy Marinara

1/2 cup Onions (chopped)
2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Giant Can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 can of Tomato Paste  
2 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
Several dashes of Red Pepper flakes
Several dashes of salt

1) Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat (5 minutes)
2) Add in all other ingredients
3) Simmer for 5 minutes of medium heat and once bubbling, simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes


What is your favorite go-to dinner? Have you tried spaghetti squash?
 

2 comments:

  1. Haha--onion lotion! I'm actually weird and don't really like spaghetti that much, so I've never tried spaghetti squash. I might make it sometime in the future for my family though!

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  2. I actually don't think I have ever heard of anyone who didn't like spaghetti! Craziness! :)

    If you do try it out, let me know how your family likes it! :)

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