This zucchini noodle bolognese is a low carb pasta night that does not go soggy, a quick sausage-and-tomato sauce spooned over raw zucchini noodles for an al dente bite, at about 9 grams of net carbs. Below is why I keep the zoodles raw and how it compares to a real ragu.
I was in the mood for Italian last night and with the help of my handy-dandy Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Cutter I can enjoy spaghetti tonight. I prefer using zucchini for this dish. Simply cut the zucchini and pour your favorite sauce over the top. That's it! I think the zucchini spaghetti tastes the best raw. It has a texture most similar al dente pasta when served raw. Since I'm still attempting to empty the contents of my fridge I decided to make a Bolognese sauce. For this recipe I chose to use only mild italian sausage, but feel free to add beef instead.
Serve the zoodles raw for al dente
The biggest mistake with zucchini noodles is cooking them, especially simmering them in the sauce, which floods the bowl with water and turns them limp. I skip all of that and serve them raw, where they stay firm and taste closest to al dente pasta. The hot sauce warms them just enough as you eat. If you really want them warm, the fix is to salt the noodles, pat them dry to pull out the water first, then warm them through quickly on their own and spoon the sauce on top, never toss and stew them in it.
A quick take on ragu alla Bolognese
This is a weeknight bolognese, and it is worth knowing how the real one differs. Authentic ragu alla Bolognese comes from Bologna and is built on a soffritto of finely minced onion, carrot, and celery, with a splash of milk to soften the meat against the acidity, then simmered low for at least two hours and served on fresh tagliatelle, not spaghetti. My version trades that time for a fast sausage-and-tomato sauce, which is what a Tuesday calls for. If you have the afternoon, add a carrot and celery to the soffritto and a splash of cream or milk, and let it go longer; the flavor at two hours is a different thing.
Net carbs and the sauce
I will be honest that this lands higher than a plain zoodle dish, around 9 grams of net carbs a serving, and almost all of it is the tomatoes, paste, and onion in the sauce rather than the noodles. That is still a fraction of a real spaghetti bolognese. Cook the sausage or beef through to 160 degrees F, the USDA mark for ground meat. The zucchini noodle is just one carrier; my low carb pasta substitutes guide lays out the others and which sauce each suits, and a zucchini lasagna uses the same vegetable a different way.
Sources
USDA FoodData Central, nutrient references for zucchini, tomatoes, and Italian sausage; safe ground-meat temperature.
GialloZafferano, authentic ragu alla Bolognese method.
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, low-carb pasta notes.
