Courgette/Zucchini Penne with home-made spicy tomato sauce

After clean cakes and treats, low carb meals are the most requested recipes. So here you have a low carb penne with spicy tomato sauce which is just perfect if you are trying to cut back on the carbs or are looking for a nice clean dish. Have no fear this recipe might be low in carbs, but it is certainly not low in taste!

There is a common misconception about carbs being bad for you, but in my opinion they play important part in your diet, you just need to know when to eat them. The best time is after your workout or for breakfast. One of the best and slow releasing breakfast carbs are oats or bran cereal. For lunch opt out for quinoa, sweet potatoes, brown rice or bulgur. Carbs mean energy, no carbs =no energy. Simples!  Just before we get to the recipe let me remind you of my zoodles, another fantastic low carb dish or spelt wholegrain pasta with broccoli.

Recipe serves 2 people
5 medium courgettes/zucchini
¾ cup fresh/frozen peas
Slice courgette into penne shapes and blanch/boil together with the peas for couple of minutes. I personally love it uncooked for a bit of crunch. Now for the tomato sauce.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 small onion(chopped into a few chunks)
400 gr tomato passata
Half a small glass of water
Dried chilli
Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a pan before adding the onion. After a short while add the chilli according to your preference.
Once the onion has got some colour and beginning to soften, add the garlic and heat for a couple of minutes (making sure not to allow the garlic to burn). You can now add the tomato (passata) and half a small glass of water (optional, you could add one teaspoon of coconut palm sugar to take away any possible bitterness from the tomatoes). Heat on a medium heat for around 10 mins, allowing the sauce to bubble along, before turning down the heat to a simmer. At this point you should add any seasoning. After about another 15 minutes or so, the sauce should be almost ready. About a minute before switching off add a few basil leaves. Once done, put to the side to allow the basil leaves to infuse. All that is left now is to mix the sauce with the courgettes and peas and add a grind of fresh black pepper. Enjoy!

Much love,
Hedi