Spicy Basil Tomato Sauce with White Beans & Zucchini Noodles
How about this for a simple, yet zesty weeknight meal?
To say I eat a lot of zucchini noodles would be putting it very, very lightly. To make zucchini noodles I use a tool called a Spiralizer, it will transform your vegetables and fruits into spaghetti or spirals. The noodles are ready in less than 5 minutes and the Spiralizer is easy to clean and inexpensive to purchase. If you’re itching to bust out/finally buy a spiralizer now is the time to start. Not a zucchini fan? This recipe would work great with your favorite pasta as well.
So this sauce. It’s very simple.
In my opinion, this homemade spicy marinara is almost as fast and tastes immeasurably better than the over sweet store-bought tomato sauces (some brands have over 40 grams of sugar, no joke). This sauce is perfectly balanced, and incredibly fresh-tasting. Basically, you saute onions and garlic in a bit of good olive oil, then you add pureed tomatoes and fresh basil. Everyone knows that tomatoes and basil are a fabulous duo, and they certainly don’t disappoint in this recipe, which requires few other ingredients. While this recipe is pleasantly filling as is, I recommend serving it topped with plenty of extra fresh basil and additional crushed red pepper. A fresh baguette and red wine optional, but strongly recommended.
Very rustic chic.
Spicy Basil Tomato Sauce with White Beans & Zucchini Noodles
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 (28-ounce) can pureed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1 fresh rosemary sprig
2 tbsp. minced fresh basil (plus more for garnish)
2 large or 4 small zucchini, spiralized
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until softened and just brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper, cannellini beans and rosemary sprig. Season with salt and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove rosemary sprig and stir in the basil and serve on top of zucchini noodles or pasta.