Spaghetti and Meatballs

1

Make Sauce: Heat olive oil in a large pot over low-medium. Once oil is hot, add 1 onion and 8 cloves of garlic, cooking until translucent and beginning to get golden, stirring occasionally and making sure they don’t burn. Add the 2 zucchinis, bell pepper and 3 carrots, cooking until soft, about 10-20 minutes. Add basil and mix to wilt. Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing them with your hands as you go. Mix in the oregano and season heavily with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, covered, for another 20 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, then use an immersion blender to puree sauce, or transfer to an upright blender to puree before returning sauce to the pot.

2

Make Meatballs: Briefly mix the ground beef, 1 small zucchini, 1 small carrot, mushrooms, ½ onion, 2 garlic cloves, ground flax, ½ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp of pepper with your hands until the ingredients are well distributed. Form into meatballs the size of ping pong balls. With the sauce on low heat, drop the formed meatballs into the pot, cooking them in the sauce for 1-1 1/2 hours.

3

Boil pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package instructions. Drain noodles then add them to the pot of sauce and meatballs, combining the noodles with the sauce thoroughly. Serve with fresh parmesan, vegan parmesan, salt & pepper, chili flakes and/or fresh basil.

4

NOTES: The meatballs may be a little delicate once cooked because of the vegetable content, and some may break apart in the sauce. This is totally ok, and totally delicious. Add more or less chili flakes depending on your spice tolerance. You could use a mixture of ground pork and beef for the meatballs or sub the red meat for ground chicken or turkey.