After seeing an awesome segment on “Rachael”, I wanted to try making a low carb & grain-free Ziti. So I began with her simple recipe and tweaked it a bit. Full of vitamins, nutrition, & healthy fats, it was an amazing dish to finish out the holidays with a bit of convenience and delicious twist of flavor.
KetoNurses Easy Fake-Ziti Recipe
2-3 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
5-6 cloves of garlic (1 bulb is fine)
nutmeg, freshly ground (optional)
10-12 oz thawed, drained & chopped spinach (can use 1 lb.)
2 -3 medium-sized zuchinni, sliced thinly
16-24 oz full fat ricotta
16-24 oz grated parmagiano-reggiano
16 oz shredded fresh mozzarella
salt & pepper to taste
Start by turning oven on 350 degrees to preheat, & oil or butter your baking dish. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in medium skillet over medium heat and stir in garlic. Add drained spinach and break clumps of spinach up as you stir it into oil/garlic. Stir over medium heat for 1-2 minutes to heat thoroughly. Turn off heat.
Fold in the thinly sliced zucchini & a bit of nutmeg. Salt & pepper to taste. Fold in the ricotta & parm & mix well.
Turn out into baking dish and cover with shredded/grated mozzarella. Bake smaller dish (8×8) for about 30 minutes; if using larger quantities, you will need a larger dish, approximately 9×13. Larger pans will require longer cooking time. I used the largest quantities & baked my ziti in a 9×13 pan, so baking time was about 45-50 minutes. It is done when mozzarella begins to appear golden brown. Let stand out of oven for about 15 minutes prior to cutting & serving. It makes a great leftover dish later in the week or works well even as hor d’oeuvres when cut into small squares.
Options: Brown a pound of fresh pork sausage or hamburger meat and add to mixture prior to baking. I did use ground beef in my version because my husband refused to eat it without some kind of meat. LOL
This meal has it all! Loads of protein, iron, & vital nutrients for improving health can be found in the ingredients. In addition, it’s a very filling meal, meaning you can eat smaller portions. Served with a small green salad, it is a great meal for entertaining or even carrying to a pot-luck dinner.
Rachael recommended a nice white wine for accompanying her Ziti. I’m not much of a wine chic, so I’ll take her word for it.
This Fake-Ziti is a very flexible base of ingredients & I hope to try a few other twists to it over the next few months!
I have really enjoyed learning to cook with zucchini as noodles in a wide variety of dishes; zuchinni makes a terrific substitute for grain-based noodles & contain significantly more nutrients than any processed noodle manufactured today. Using “zoodles” as they are called, can also be a great way to get your kids to eat more veggies!
If you try our low carb Ziti, please share photos and let us know how you like it; find & follow our Facebook page – KetoNurses.
