Tri Colour “Pasta” and Chicken Meatballs

I have been cutting down a lot on pasta and breads lately.  I won’t eliminate them, but I don’t indulge as much as I used to. Here is a great recipe from Food and Drink Magazine that replaces the pasta with veggies.  I don’t have a spiralizer so I just cut them up as fine as I could and it worked well.  The homemade sauce was really nice but if you are short of time you could replace it with your favourite canned variety.

TOMATO SAUCE
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (each 794 g) plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
½ cup (125 mL) dry red wine
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2 mL) red pepper flakes

CHICKEN MEATBALLS
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb (500 g) lean ground chicken
½ cup (125 mL) bread crumbs
Pinch of chili flakes
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

TRI-COLOUR “NOODLES”
2 large carrots
2 large Yukon gold potatoes
1 broccoli stem (reserve florets for a steamed vegetable side dish)
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil

GARNISH
¼ cup (60 mL) fresh basil leaves, shredded
¼ cup (60 mL) freshly grated Parmesan

1. For tomato sauce, in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add the oil and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, making sure garlic doesn’t burn. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat for an hour, uncovered, stirring every so often. Taste and adjust seasoning if need be. Purée with an immersion blender if a smoother sauce is desired.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

3. For meatballs, in a small pan, heat olive oil and cook finely chopped onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Tip into a bowl and cool. Meanwhile, mix together ground chicken with bread crumbs, chili flakes, egg, salt and pepper. Add cooled onion-garlic mixture. Wet hands and form mixture into 14 to 16 meatballs. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly space meatballs on sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until fully cooked.

4. Wash and peel carrots, potato and broccoli stem and trim all ends to make flat. Place onto the spiralizer glider, making sure the centre of the vegetable is aligned with the circular centre blade. Push the glider towards the front blades as you turn the handle and watch as your spiralized veggies materialize. Keep a bowl nearby to collect “noodles” and clean out the pulp and cores as you go. Toss spiralized vegetables with 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil.

5. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook vegetables in several batches until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Toss with sauce in pan. Serve with meatballs and top with shredded basil and Parmesan.

Serves 4 to 6