Wine and Beer Pairing:
Tomato-based sauces include fresh tomato with basil are nicely paired with crisp dry whites such as Pinot Grigio or Verdicchio. Cooked tomato sauces such as napoletana or marinara) go nicely with a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or a light Sicilian red. It is not until you get into meat (such as bolognese, spaghetti with meatballs, sausage-based sauces) that it makes sense to pair with Sicilian and Puglian reds (especially Primitivo), Sangiovese, Rosso di Montalcino and inexpensive Barberas. Zinfandel is good too.
When it comes to pasta topped with a tomato sauce, my first beer recommendation would be a fresh and aromatic Saison. The farmhouse-style beer compliments the acidity of the tomatoes. Tabularasa from Toccalmatto beers are fairly easy to find at specialty brewpubs and shops in the States. For pasta with a little more kick to it, such as an arrabbiata - an Italian pilsner is interestingly hoppy and fits well if the sauce is spicy. Birrificio Italiano’s Tipopils is the Lake Como brewery’s flagship beer and is widely available stateside. Maine’s Tributary Brewing Company has also been known to cook up its own Italian Pilsner.
Cost: The cost of this dish is typically $1.50-$2 per plate depending on the cost for fresh zucchini and which pasta sauce you chose ($4-12/quart). Time and Effort: This recipe doesn’t take too much time or effort but the spiralizing does take a little bit (10-12 minutes and more things to wash).
Alex Approved: This dish did not quite make it to the Alex Approved list. His feedback was that he is super picky about texture and the zucchini pasta just seemed odd to him.
Leftovers: This would make a great leftover but we never get there.
Health: As the title says, this is a super healthy pasta. It is very low in carbohydrates, saturated fats, sodium and cholesterol, but it is surprisingly high in dietary sugars depending on the pasta sauce you select.