I have been loving different variations of carrot pasta ribbons lately.

It’s a great way to get a veggie-based “pasta” in your diet, especially if you’re grain and/or gluten-free.  Not to mention, the colors are awesome!

Give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it!

It’s paleo and vegetarian-friendly (vegan option too), ReBoot-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free and 100% real food approved.

Ingredients

12 carrots, multiple colors if available (see image above)

1 handful of spinach (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup cilantro, leaves pulled from stems

1 tablespoon pastured ghee (see kitchen notes #1)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 heap tablespoon dill, dried

1 teaspoon garlic pepper

1 teaspoon pink salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes (if you want more spice, add more. Go by your taste)

*links above to brands I personally use

Kitchen Notes:

1. If you want to keep the dish vegan-friendly, you can use coconut oil instead of the ghee.  The ghee for me gave it a unique flavor that I really liked, however.  Butter goes great with pasta in general, so recreating that flavor with a veggie-based pasta is important for me.

2. If you want to add some protein to this, I’ve done this dish before with added slow-cooked chicken and it tastes great.

Directions

1.  With a carrot peeler, first peel the outer layer of each carrot off.  Then peel all your carrots into a pile (see picture below) to make your carrot ribbons.  The longer the ribbons the better.

2.  Warm up a saute pan on medium heat and add about half your ghee and olive oil.

3.  Add your carrot ribbons to the pan and let them saute for a few minutes.. just to begin to get them a little softened up.

4.  After a few minutes, add the rest of your ghee, olive oil and all of your spices.  Mix everything in really well.

5.  Turn the heat to low-medium and let everything saute for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often.

6.  Taste one ribbon (careful it’ll be hot) and see if it’s the right crunch you want.  I try to go for a softer feel, but still a hint of crunch.  Usually about 10 minutes does that for me, so just taste it to your “mouth feel” you prefer.

7.  Finally, turn the heat off and mix in your spinach at the end.  It will wilt down pretty quick.

8.  Add everything to a bowl and stir in your cilantro.

Taste for salt and pepper and serve.  You can top off each dish with a little sprinkle of cilantro, maybe some chili flakes for some heat, and even a little drizzle of olive oil if you like.

Works great as its own dish or served as a side dish.

Buon Appetito!