Zucchini Pasta

Sometimes I have no idea what to put on the table for dinner. Okay, it happens a lot. I get tired of making (and eating) the same things and I love to try out new recipes. I have loads of cookbooks and thick binders full of recipes ripped out from magazines over the years. But sometimes its just not enough to peak my interest. Sometimes I just need something inspiring. The other night, was one of those nights and I had a huge zucchini that I needed to use up. So I headed over to Foodgawker.com (Craftgawker's yummy brother) to find something amazing. I entered in zucchini to the search and found this amazing recipe from Running to the Kitchen (love the name). It does sound a little weird, I will admit. But there are so many amazing flavors in it I knew it had to be good. And it was. My husband made sure to tell me to write this one down. So good, and super healthy too. I made a change to mine and used non-fat ricotta to cut down on the calories a bit. I also doubled the dressing because I used a bunch of zucchini. This dish is so delicious you're not going to believe it. Zucchini pasta? Come on!



Zucchini Pasta with Sausage, Cherries and Ricotta

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini (if you are lucky enough to have someone give you one of those giant homegrown ones, otherwise you may need about 3 small zucchini from the store) If you don't have a spiralizer, (I sure don't) you will have to use a julienne peeler or mandolin. Mine turned out just fine that way.
1/2 lb Italian pork sausage
1/4 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
1 Tbls. Basil thinly sliced
1/2 cup cherries, pitted and cut into quarters
1/2 cup low fat or non fat ricotta
2 Tbls. Olive oil
2 Tbls. Honey
1 Lemon, juiced
Salt and Pepper

Brown the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. While sausage cooks, spiralize or julienne zucchini and place in a large bowl. Thinly slice the fennel (I used a mandolin for the fennel so it would be super thin) and basil, then add to the zucchini. Whisk together olive oil, honey and lemon juice then dress the zucchini mixture with it. Toss well. Plate the zucchini mixture and top with a sprinkle of sausage, a dollop of ricotta and a sprinkle of quartered cherries. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!