Garlic Zucchini Noodles W/Veggies & Ground Pork

This recipe is another one that was inspired by my trip to the farmer's market.  When I saw that zucchini and tomatoes were in season, I knew I wanted to make a zucchini noodle (zoodle) recipe with cooked tomatoes.  Bell peppers compliment the sweetness of cherry tomatoes, so I decided to add those as well - 1 red and 1 yellow for color and flavor.  I knew I wanted to add a protein to this recipe and was so excited that the farmer's market had ground pork.  Finally, I saw that eggplant was in season and decided that if I could find Japanese eggplant - a skinnier version of traditional eggplants - I would buy some and add it to the recipe as well.  

Believe it or not, all the veggies for this recipe were purchased at 1 stall at the farmer's market for less than $20.  Top it all off with some blue cheese stuffed olives (also from the farmer's market of course) and this recipe has it all.  I thought about getting some mozzarella for this recipe, but I'm so glad I didn't because it would have overwhelmed the natural flavor of the veggies.  The subtle creaminess from these stuffed olives was all I needed.  And why olives?  You need a little brightness and acidity to cut through the richness of the eggplant and the sweetness of the bell peppers and tomatoes.  Yours don't have to be cheese stuffed, that was just a bonus, but any green olives will do.

Why should you make this recipe?  Well first, it's a one-pot/pan meal, so you don't have a ton of clean up.  Second, it's full of fresh, seasonal veggies that are bursting with flavor, so you don't need a sauce, just some garlic and avocado oil to bring the flavors together.  I used ground pork in the recipe because I love ground pork with pasta, but you could leave it out to make the recipe vegan - I would just recommend adding something like a portobello mushroom to give the recipe a little more weight.  Anyways, its an absolutely delicious & healthy recipe that will leave you 100% satisfied after.  It honestly turned out even better than I imagined, which is always a good sign!

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4-5 

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchinis, spiralized

2 Japanese eggplant, sliced in 1/4" rounds

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 lb cherry tomato, halved

1 lb ground pork

5-6 medium garlic cloves, roughly minced

3 tbs avocado oil

1/2 cup green olives, sliced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat a large cast iron pan over high heat.  Add 1 tbs avocado oil and ground pork, salt & pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes until cooked through.  Stir 2-3 times to break up the pork, but don't over-stir and allow to color. Remove and set aside.
2. Add 1 tbs avocado oil to the pan over high heat and add eggplant slices.  Do not overcrowd the pan, you may have to do 2 sessions.  Lightly salt the eggplant and cook for 3 minutes, flip and cook an additional 3 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add 1 tbs avocado oil to the pan over medium heat.  Add chopped bell peppers and garlic and saute for 3 minutes.  Add tomato and cook an additional minute, stirring and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.  
4. Add pork and eggplant back to the pan and toss the zucchini noodles to the pan.  Stir until thoroughly combined and cook for 2-3 minutes, until all ingredients are heated through.
5. Remove from heat and top with sliced olives.  Serve immediately.

These veggies were just so beautiful I had to take a photo of them.

And in my natural fashion, I prepped all the veggies ahead of time so all I had to do was drop them in the pan.

I cooked my eggplant in 2 sessions so I could get good color and an even cook on all of them.

The final product - full of delicious, fresh veggies and laced with farm fresh pork.