Amatriciana Sauce with Miracle Noodles

Browsing the halls of Whole Foods, or other natural markets, we’ve often come across Miracle Noodles, which seemed weird and probably out of science fiction. For those of you who are unaware, these “miracle noodles” are actually Shirataki noodles or yam noodles, and advertise as EVERYTHING-free: gluten, soy, carbohydrate, and calorie. Sounds too good to be true, right? While they work for us on occasion, they’re probably not the best everyday staple. Sarah Ballantyne did a write up on the subject recently, and I recommend it as a good primer on the noodles and their potential up- and downsides. That having been said, we picked these up on a whim and decided to make a sauce to try them.

Amatriciana sauce is an Italian pasta sauce traditionally made with cured ham, cheese, and tomatoes. We’ve taken some liberties with the recipe, including basil, red pepper flakes, and always more garlic than you might find in other recipes. If you tolerate cheese, feel free to use a high quality parmesan to top your pasta and sauce, and feel free to substitute these miracle noodles for something more up your alley, like homemade zoodles or sweet potato noodles. However you choose to serve this sauce, we think you’ll enjoy it. Also, if you sign up for Butcher Box, you can get a free pack of paleo bacon delivered to you to make this recipe!

Ingredients
6 slices bacon
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped (~1/2 C)
6 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 1/2 C stewed tomatoes (~2 14-oz cans)
1-2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 7-oz packages of miracle noodles
Optional: Parm cheese

Method

Cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Allow it to cool and then chop it.

Sauté red pepper flakes in the bacon fat for 30 seconds, then add onion and garlic. Sauté until soft (8-10 minutes).

Add the tomatoes, reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce should reduce by around 1/3. Chop your basil while the tomatoes simmer.

Sprinkle in the basil and mix. If desired, also add cheese…

Cook noodles per instructions, and toss with sauce.

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