Spiced Tomato Courgetti with Garlic and Pancetta

I recently posted a tip for how to make courgette pasta if you don’t have a spiralizer (link here in case you missed it!).

Since then, I’ve been busy experimenting in the kitchen and came up with a beaut of a recipe last weekend! This is a hearty little number that will leave you feeling satisfied, full and convinced that you’ve just eaten a big bowl of spaghetti. I’ve added a little kick of chilli and some delicious pancetta to keep things exciting.

What’s more, it takes less than 20 minutes to cook this up from start to finish.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 long red or orange pepper

4 courgettes.
1 clove garlic
60g cubed pancetta
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/4 tsp chilli powder*
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp sun dried tomato paste (optional)
grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
2. Deseed your pepper and cut it lengthways into strips. Drizzle over a little olive oil, add a couple of grinds of salt and pepper and shake the peppers until everything is coated. Place the strips on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the tips begin to char.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large saucepan and when hot add in the pancetta. Fry these until nice and crispy (about 4 minutes).
4. Crush or finely dice your garlic clove and add this to the pancetta to cook for a minute.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, chilli powder and sugar and mix it all together. (Add more or less chilli to suit your preference).
6. If you like your pasta sauces extra tomato-ey, add in 1 tsp sun dried tomato paste at this point.
7. Leave the sauce on a medium heat to bubble and thicken, stirring occassionally.
8. Using a julienne peeler, slice your courgettes lengthways into long thin strips to make ‘courgetti’. Add these to a large frying pan or wok with a drizzle of olive oil and stir fry for a minute to warm it through. You want it to remain crunchy so don’t overcook it!
9. Finally, add your cooked peppers to the sauce and stir gently. Taste and add a pinch of salt and pepper if needed.

*I am not particularly tolerant to spices so I used a mild chilli powder
just to add some depth to the dish.

To serve

Add a generous portion of courgetti into each bowl and pour over your rich tomato sauce. Sprinkle over some grated parmesan for a finishing touch.

Go on, you know you want a bite!

As always, if you try my recipe I’d love to know how you get on, even better, send me a picture! You can tag me on Twitter @lovedbylaurac or Instagram @lovedbylaurac