Whenever I find myself running behind on my writing commitments and the pressure starts to mount, I paint my fingernails red.
A strange cure for writer’s block perhaps but it works for me. Red is one of those colors that just won’t be denied. Bold and energizing, it’s an accelerator and mood changer. And it turns out that it doesn’t endure procrastination very well either.
As soon as I see those bright red chiclets moving across the keypad in a trail of fire, it’s like a call to action. Suddenly I’m transported out of the doldrums of my languid mind and into a place of movement and activity, whether I want to or not.
I don’t think it would work on any kind of regular basis, and I wouldn’t care to have my hands ablaze more than a few times a year, but every now and again, seeing red is where it’s at.
Does color change you?
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I know I should be moving on to back-to-school themes and fall givings and such but you’ll forgive me for holding off on the pumpkin posts for now.
It is still August after all and I’m really not in a rush to abandon summer especially while mother nature continues to turn out such gorgeous late summer produce.
And speaking of spoils, we received another generous haul of garden tomatoes and basil from our neighbors this past weekend. In fact, we got the full tour of their plantation (so inspiring) and this time, I decided to make a roasted marinara sauce from their givings.
Instead of serving the Italian sauce with a conventional grain-based pasta, I decided to switch things up a little and work with zucchini – another abundant vegetable right now.
Some of you might remember this handy dandy shredding tool from this post that allowed me to make short work of my green papaya. That is the same tool I used to make the zucchini pasta threads. You could also use a spiralizer (I don’t own one but I understand they are quite versatile and will produce a noodle like shape).
If you make this recipe expecting your great-aunt Angioletta’s pasta, well, this is not it. On the other hand, you may be surprised to discover just how appetizing this dish is in its own right without comparison. A warm and savory roasted marinara sauce mingled with sautéed mushroom and chicken over a bed of light and delicious zucchini. You might just like it. A lot.
Zucchini Pasta with Garden Fresh Marinara Sauce
For the Marinara Sauce
- 4 lbs (about 12 medium sized) fresh seasonal tomatoes, cored
- 1/3 cup tomato paste, optional
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut in chunks
- 6-8 peeled whole garlic cloves, or to taste (we love our garlic!)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- sea salt & pepper to taste
- 6 fresh basil leaves, or to taste
- pinch of red chili pepper flakes, as desired
For the Zucchini Pasta
- 4 medium sized fresh zucchini, unpeeled and shredded or spiralized
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 oz each), cut into bite sized cubes
- 1 carton (about 2 cups) sliced fresh mushrooms of choice
Serves 4
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Roasting Method: I have used different methods to roast tomatoes in the past. This particular method uses higher heat for a shorter duration. I recommend using a dish (as opposed to a baking sheet) for this method because the vegetables will release significant fluid.
- Converting Zucchini into Pasta: In order to convert the zucchini into pasta like threads, you will need either a shredding tool such as the Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler (the best $20 investment you will ever make) or a spiralizer (links above in write-up). Anything else will likely be an exercise in futility and frustration.
- Adding Protein: I talked about the function and importance of protein in this post. Without the addition of protein to this zucchini marinara, this dish becomes essentially a vegetable salad (zucchini, tomato, onion, garlic & mushrooms) perfectly nutritious in its own right but has no more holding power than a bag of carrots (about 20 minutes). Protein is critical for building this dish into a meal, staving off hunger and creating satiety. If chicken is not your thing, use any protein of choice, animal or vegetable. You can also purée beans or lentils directly into the sauce during the blender step rather than adding them whole. Lots of options.
- Lovely Lycopene! Tomatoes are not only rich in vitamins (A, C, K) and minerals (folate, potassium) they are also the best dietary source of lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant found primarily in cooked tomato (and to a lesser extent in watermelon and pink grapefruit). It has been linked to the reduction of prostate cancer (as well as other cancers) and cardiovascular disease and more recently, to a reduction in photodamage caused by the sun (how neat). Lots of promising research on lycopene.
Heat oven to 425 F
- Using a tomato corer or a simple knife (which is what I used) remove the center part of each tomato and discard.
- Place tomatoes, hole side up, in a baking dish along with onion and garlic. It doesn’t really matter how they are placed – haphazard works.
- Drizzle the veggies with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper (and any other seasonings desired).
- Place vegetable tray in the oven and roast for about 35 minutes or until the tomatoes have started to break down, juices are running and the onion/garlic is taking on some golden coloration.
- Remove baking dish from oven and allow it to cool.
- Meanwhile shred or spiralize the four zucchinis and set aside the pasta.
- Place a large colander inside a bowl and carefully transfer roasted vegetable and their juices into the colander allowing the juices to drain into the bowl – reserve some of the juice.
- Transfer strained vegetables to a blender or food processor and blend/process until combined.
- At this point, you can either add the basil to the marinara sauce and blend/process together or reserve the basil for topping. You can also taste and adjust marinara seasonings to your liking.
- If the marinara sauce is thicker than you would like, simply add some of the reserved roasting juice and blend. If the mixture is more dilute than you would like, add tomato paste to desired consistency (it acts as a thickening agent and also adds a rich red color to the sauce).
- Meanwhile, sauté cubed chicken and mushroom in a large skillet over medium-low heat with a little bit of olive oil. Note: when chicken is cubed in this fashion it does not take a long time to cook (about 2 minutes or less) so it works out just fine tossing them together.
- When chicken is cooked through (no longer pink inside – it will happen quickly) add the marinara sauce to the skillet and mix to combine with the chicken and mushroom just until everything is warm. Make any final seasoning adjustments (note: you can also add capers, olives, cheese as desired).
- Divide zucchini pasta among four bowls/plates and top with chicken, mushrooms and marinara sauce.
- Top the pasta with fresh basil and a sprinkle of red chili peppers, as desired.
Nice hands Kelly! they look great with the red nail polish which, BTW takes me back. I have always had the ability to grow beautiful healthy nails and I used to always paint them red; therefore, I can relate to the energy one gets from seeing bright red nails moving quickly across the keyboard. :) I’m with you – it’s still August so the pumpkin and apple recipes can wait a little longer, especially since you still are getting those gorgeous tomatoes. Good call on making a roasted marinara sauce! It look so rich and fresh and then you had to go all of the way healthy and serve with zucchini pasta. I’ve got to get me one of those spiralizers. :) Fun Post!
I could stare at your pictures all day Kelly – gorgeous! And your recipe is equally compelling. I’m pretty sure even aunt Angioletta would approve ;-) you’ve really captured the idea of healthy carbohydrates and I couldn’t agree more about the addition of protein. I’ve become much more vigilant since I started following you and I’m noticing the difference in my diminished hunger and cravings — thank you! I typically notice color on others but I’m not sure I’ve noticed how it affects me… I have to start paying attention to that. No shortage of beautiful reds on this page — love the theme and your intro :).
Roasting tomatoes brings out the best. This is the only way to do it in my opinion. Lucky you to have the tomato/basil source next door.
Whenever I find myself running behind on my writing commitments and the pressure starts to mount, I paint my fingernails red.***
LOVE!
And the photos are exquisite, Kelly. xx
Oh my gosh! I love it :) I just think it is so awesome that you are sharing with us how you are using all this beautiful produce from your neighbor. I bet they would love to see these beautiful meals you are creating with their gifts. I’m also going to have to try your red nail trick. I have to do something to get myself up and moving :)
Red finger nails to get you moving? I love it. Colors definitely inspire me. They change all the time. Right now it’s green and yellow. Your zucchini pasta looks beautiful and your fresh marinara – it doesn’t get much better! By the way – your pictures have moved to a whole new level! Fabulous work! :)
wow Kelly..you have just brought me back to summer which is long gone over here. THANKS! The zucchini pasta look fanfreakingtastic!
Very interesting… I am addicted to color. I don’t think I match any color with a mood or a particular need to do something, but more often than not I wear super colorful clothes, and change my nail polish every week. Come to think of it, it is a bit odd that I don’t wear make up Oh,well
back to the recipe: I’ve been spiralizing zucchini at least once a week, sometimes twice. Love it. Raw, cooked, in tomato sauce, together with pasta, countless ways… never get tired of it, Your photos are beautiful, and so are your hands!
Haha! That’s so great Kelly, love the action shot and your write-up too! I once read that red is the color of physical movement which is exactly how you’ve described it here. So amazing to think that it can affect us that way and have a positive influence on motivation (all while being caffeine free ;-). Beautiful, beautiful recipe… Seriously. I want to make this immediately. So creative and full of real ingredients. Does your neighbor ship? :) I’m glad you are lingering in summer — the season is short enough as it is!
;-)