Zucchini ribbons with tuna, olives and tomato

If you are eating Paleo or low-carb then this dish is perfect for you. Fish is a good source of protein but generally has less calories than a similar portion of beef or pork.



I am not eating pasta right now, but sometimes I like to have a 'pasta-type' dish, basically for me that means I want some good tomato sauce. I have been known to just eat the tomato sauce, but on this day I felt like having something to go with my tomato sauce.

To my rescue came a zucchini/courgette from the fridge. With a few other pantry stables I had myself a filling, tasty and healthy meal in about 15 minutes. Awesome!

What you'll need

1 large zucchini/courgette
100g tuna in oil or brine
1/2 cup good quality jar pasta sauce
Handful of your favourite olives (with or without seeds)
Half lemon to serve

Salt and pepper
Butter for the pan
Juice from half a lemon

What to do

First, cut the zucchini with ribbons. I did this with my vegetable peeler. Remove the ends of the zucchini. Take your vegetable peeler and start peeling long strips of zucchini from top to bottom of the fruit. Keep going until you get to the seeds at the middle. Then rotate the zucchini and repeat on the other sides until you can peel no more. Discard the middle seedy bit. Alternatively you can use a mandolin to slice the zucchini.

Place the zucchini ribbons in a bowl with two good pinches of salt and mix gently (you don't want to break the ribbons). Leave for five minutes. This will remove some of the water from the zucchini so that you don't end up with zucchini soup when you pan fry the ribbons. After five minutes, discard the liquid in the bowl and drain the zucchini very well on some kitchen towel.

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of butter. Once the butter has melted and is frothy, add the zucchini ribbons. Toss with the butter and leave to cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat the prepared pasta sauce, either is a microwave-safe container or in a small saucepan over low heat until warm.

Once the zucchini is cooked (it will soften but you don't want it falling apart), season with some pepper (you won't need any salt) and the lemon juice.

Place immediately onto a plate, spoon over the tomato sauce, drain then flake the tuna over the sauce and throw on the olives. Serve with some grated Parmesan cheese or some chilli flakes if you like or some more fresh lemon.