Paleo Spaghetti Bolognese With Zucchini Noodles

🧂 Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

  extra virgin
• 4-5 slices pancetta

  finely diced (bacon rashers are fine)
• 1 large onion

  finely diced
• 1 large carrot

  finely diced
• 1 rib celery

  finely diced
• 1.5 lbs. ground beef

  grass-fed mince (700 g)
• 0.6 lb. ground pork

  free range mince (300 g)
• 4 garlic cloves

  peeled and finely diced
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 cans diced tomatoes

  or tomato passata (800 g)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 30 ml port

  or dry sherry (1 fl oz.)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

  gluten-free
• 2.5 teaspoons salt
• 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1 star anise

  pod, this is my secret ingredient
• 1 cinnamon stick

  or 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 0.5 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 0.5 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  optional
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 3 bay leaves
• To finish: 1 tablespoon butter or ghee

  optional
• 4 medium zucchini
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• A good pinch of salt
• You will need a veggie spiralizer or a peeler to make noodles

Instructions

• 1 Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy saucepan. Sauté onions,
  pancetta, carrots and celery on medium heat until golden and soft. Remove to a
  bowl.
• 2 Add another tablespoon of olive oil, ground beef and pork to the saucepan and
  turn the heat up to high. Break the meat apart into the small piece using a
  spatula or potato mash (that's my little trick). Cook on high heat until the
  colour changes from red to desaturated brown. Stir frequently to make sure all
  bits are cooked evenly. This should take about 8-10 minutes and some of the
  juices will evaporate in the process. 
• 3 Keeping the heat high, add garlic and red wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add
  back the sautéed vegetables and all remaining ingredients except for
  butter/ghee. Stir and bring to boil then turn the heat down to a simmer
  (medium-low). Cook covered with a lid for 1 hour. Stir through every 20 minutes
  or so. 
• 4 After an hour, remove the lid and cook uncovered for another hour, stirring
  occasionally. Finally, bring the heat up to medium-high, add a dollop of butter
  or ghee, if using, and let the sauce bubble away for 5 minutes to complete the
  thickening of the sauce. If not using, turn the heat off let the sauce stand for
  a bit to settle.
• 5 In the final 30 minutes of the sauce cooking, prepare the zucchini noodles or
  zucchini spaghetti. You can use a spiralizer or a carrot peeler to shave them
  into ribbons, which will be more like fettuccine rather than spaghetti. 
• 6 Heat a large frying pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to sizzling hot. Add the
  lemon zest and zucchini strips and sauté on high heat for 30 seconds. You want
  to warm the zucchini noodles but not cook them, as want a slightly crunchy, ‘al
  dente’ texture. If you cook them for too long you'll end up with soggy
  vegetables. Season with a little salt right at the end. 
• 7 Serve zucchini 'spaghetti' with Bolognese ragu sauce and some fresh thyme and
  lemon zest scattered on top. You can grate some Parmesan or Pecorino cheese if
  you eat dairy or sprinkle the dish with nutritional yeast flakes or homemade
  paleo Parmesan (check out this recipe form a fellow blogger).

Nutrition Info