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ZUCCHINI NOODLES

Zucchini Noodles

When it gets warm outside and the sun is shining, I bring my Japanese spiralizer out. It’s an easy way to get more veggies into your diet and reduce the number of weekday pasta meals. Don’t go into the world of veggie noodles thinking it’s a direct substitution though. You’ll be sorely disappointed. Think refreshing light noodles that are super nutrient dense and don’t make you feel like you’ve got a brick in your stomach. No food coma with this dish.

If you’re looking to eat more raw veggies, spiralized veggies is the way to go. Here, I lightly sauté the zucchini noodles, but you can definitely skip this step to keep things raw. Why raw? When you cook food, you reduce the nutritional profile and destroy natural enzymes contained in plants. So why did I lightly cook the zucchini? For taste purposes. I wanted to make this dish family- and kid-friendly. Quickly sautéing the veggie noodles with olive oil and garlic seemed like the best way forward, for now that is. I’m all about baby steps to try to appease everyone and make plant-based eating palatable for the entire family.

Spiralizing veggies is also a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen. It’s super fun and easy, and really satisfying to see all those beautiful noodles form with just an easy rotation of the handle. The more you get your kids cooking, the more likely they’ll be open to trying new foods! Spiralizing really is like playing with your food. Try carrots, sweet potatoes, radishes, beets…and spiralize your way to summer.

I love using the entire vegetable when cooking. What to do with the zucchini ends? I made these crispy zucchini rounds by coating them with cornmeal, sea salt and paprika. Bake them at 350 degrees for around 15 minutes. Delicious! Plus, it added some nice texture to the pasta…

Zucchini Noodles
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Zucchini Pasta

Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1 Tbsp avocado oil
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 8 medium zucchini
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

dressing:

  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup parsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup mint chopped
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

  2. On a baking sheet, put cherry tomato halves. Drizzle avocado oil on top and add sea salt. Toss well. Spread tomatoes across baking sheet in one layer. Roast for 40 minutes.

  3. On another baking sheet, spread pine nuts in one layer. Toast in oven with cherry tomatoes for 5 minutes, shaking baking sheet halfway through cooking time. Set pine nuts aside.

  4. Wash zucchini well well and cut off ends. Using a spiralizer, make zucchini noodles.

  5. Make dressing by combining lemon juice, olive oil, crush garlic, parsley, mint and sea salt in a mason jar. Shake well.

  6. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add zucchini noodles and lightly sauté for only a couple minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off heat. Add roasted tomatoes and toasted pine nuts. Add dressing, to taste. Serve any extra dressing on the side.

 

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