Meatless Monday Recipe: Zucchini Fettuccine With Cauliflower Bolognese

If you're anything like us, you overindulged beyond all compare this weekend and are ready for a mini detox before the next deluge of holiday food. Chef Rob Dalzell is just the cook to lend a hand. He manages the menu at The Ranch at Live Oak Malibu, an intensive bootcamp that's been known to cater to celebs looking to shed unwanted pounds in a sustainable way.

His recipe for fettuccini uses zucchini instead of noodles, cutting down on the carbs and bloat and packing in some serious nutrition, not to mention it's pretty to look at. Instead of using ground beef in the Bolognese, he uses fiber-rich cauliflower.

Here's how it's done:

Zucchini Fettuccine With Cauliflower Bolognese

Ingredients

4 large zucchini or yellow squash
Kosher salt
2 onions (minced)
2 red bell peppers (chopped)
2 fennel bulbs (chopped)
5 cloves barlic (minced)
2 pounds of fresh tomatoes
2 heads cauliflower (sliced thin then chopped)
2 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Trim and peel the zucchini, then use a mandoline or a vegetable peeler to thinly slice lengthwise into wide ribbons. Stop when you get to the seeds. Cut the ribbons into 1/4-to-1/2-inch-wide strips to make them look like fettuccine. Transfer to a colander and toss with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Let the excess moisture drain in the sink, tossing occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Rinse well and pat dry. Keep at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and brown chopped cauliflower on cookie sheet.

In a separate baking dish, combine tomatoes, garlic, onions, fennel, red bell peppers, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, and basil and bake until tomatoes are brown. This should take approximately 2 hours. Puree the roasted veggies with the vegetable stock.

Add browned cauliflower to the pureed tomato sauce, taste and season with salt and pepper.

Warm zuccchini in the oven and serve with bolognese on top.