One of my favorite places to eat here in Beverly, MA is Chianti, an upscale Tuscan inspired Italian eatery in the center of town.  This weekend I had the good fortune of visiting Chianti’s when my in-laws came to visit for the weekend.  It had been a while since my husband and I had been there for dinner and there was a dish on the menu I’d been craving.

While I am human and do “cheat” with foods that I do not normally include as part of my diet, this is not one of those stories.  In fact, this is an even better tale of how I stumbled upon a dish at a restaurant that embraces a healthy way of eating without sacrificing a single bit of flavor or having to ask the waitress for a billion substitutions.  This is the story of how I found Zucchillini…

What is Zucchillini you ask?  I’ll let the Chianti’s menu do the talking…

Zucchillini

Using special cutters, our chefs transform whole zucchini into the perfect replacement for traditional pasta. This zucchini-based linguini is remarkably flavorful and at the same time contains no refined carbs or sugars, no flour, wheat, or dairy products. Served in a plum tomato sauce with fresh basil. Available with any of Chianti’s pasta sauces.

I ask for a grilled breast of chicken on top get the perfect meal.  No bloated feeling, no sluggishness, no sleepiness, and no being hungry 2 hours later.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

So, how can you recreate this dish at home if a drive to Chianti’s is out of the question?

Ingredients

• 4 – 6 zucchini
• 2 jars Nature’s Promise (Stop & Shop brand) pasta sauce – your favorite flavor.*  I love Nature’s Promise sauces because they are the purest I’ve found ingredient-wise and they taste amazing!
• 2 lbs grass-fed ground beef OR 4-6 grilled chicken breasts (optional)

*If you can/want to make your own sauce, go for it.  I am not that patient or that talented in the kitchen.

Instructions

In order to make the Zucchillini noodles you’ll need a hand held shredder (like a vegetable peeler) one of these to turn your zucchini into zucchillini “noodles”.  Click here for more information.

1. Turn zucchini into zucchillini using a hand held shredder or a spiral slicer like the one seen above.
2. Place raw zucchillini in a large serving bowl.
3. Brown the ground beef in a pan or grill the chicken.
4. Add sauce to pan and bring to a simmer.
5. Pour simmering sauce over raw zucchillini noodles in large serving bowl and let stand until desired “noodle” tenderness is achieved (5 – 10 minutes).

*Serves 4-6 people

Related articles

• Zucchini Noodles (bamfitnesscoaching.com)