RAW Vegan Spaghetti W/ "Meatballs"

 RAW Vegan Spaghetti With “Meatballs” 

http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/raw-food-diet/raw-recipes/raw-vegan-spaghetti-with-meatballs-recipe/

Making The Zucchini Noodles

If you have a spiral slicer, use it to turn your large zucchini into long strands of angel hair pasta. (Just use one large zucchini.) Otherwise, use a julienne slicer or a simple cheese grater to make your noodles. Shred the entire zucchini.

Making The Sauce

This marinara spaghetti sauce is simple to make. You can either use your blender or a food processor.

• 1 tomato (or 2 plum or 4 Campari)
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil
• A dash of sea salt and pepper

Soak the sun dried tomatoes in water for about 30 minutes before making your sauce. Then add all ingredients to your blender or food processor and puree until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Blend for a shorter period of time for a chunky sauce and longer for a smooth sauce.

Making The “Meatballs”

This is an optional part but adds some healthy fat, protein and makes the spaghetti dinner more satisfying.

• 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked for 6 hours in water
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 slice onion, chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil
• Dash of oregano, basil, sea salt and pepper
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Start by soaking 1/2 cup of walnuts for 6-8 hours before making your spaghetti. Soaking walnuts makes them softer and easier to work with. You can substitute pecans, but most other nuts do not work as well for meatballs. Try to stick with walnuts or pecans.

Blend mixture in a food processor briefly. Scrape any mixture from the sides of the food processor and continue to pulse it until everything is blended.

What you want is a chunky mix of walnuts and veggies that clump together easily and can be formed into balls. If it is too chunky, they may not stick and fall apart too easily. If you over-blend, you’ll end up with a pate or mush that won’t hold it’s meatball shape. Be sure to stop occasionally while processing to check the consistency and test to see if you can roll it into a ball in your hand.

An Alternative To Nut-Based Meatballs

If you don’t have nuts on hand, or you have a nut allergy, you can boost the calories and healthy fat of this raw spaghetti meal by mashing up 1/4-1/2 avocado and tossing it with the zucchini noodles before adding the sauce over the top.