Friday Favorite: Zucchini Noodles
I’m a big fan of zucchini and my favorite way to eat it is julienned into zucchini noodles. There are so many ways to dress them up it’s easy to eat zucchini every day and never get sick of it. Earlier this week we had zucchini carbonara and it was fantastic.
This is also a great way to reduce processed food and add more vegetables to your diet. These noodles are really great, but there are a few tricks to make them more like pasta and less like zucchini. You can use a mandolin or a knife, I purchased this julienne peeler last year and LOVE it. I’m not one for unitaskers in the kitchen, but this one I am glad I have. To make noodles simply run the peeler around the outside of the zucchini avoiding the center where the seeds are (this part gets mushy and falls apart). You can also cut zucchini into lasagna noodles with a knife, I love lasagna made with zucchini.
After cutting your noodles sprinkle them with a generous amount of salt, I usually use a half teaspoon for each zucchini I cut. Let stand in bowl for 15-20 minutes. This step removes excess moisture from the zucchini and helps the noodles retain their shape. They are less likely to be mushy. Then strain out the salty liquid. If you use sea salt don’t throw this away, dilute it and use it in the garden, the minerals in the salt are good for the soil.
Steam or boil your noodles for a few minutes and you’re done. No need to salt because they will be lightly salty already. Top with your favorite toppings, a few of my favorites are: lemon, feta, and rosemary, or olive oil, black pepper, and parmesan, it’s also great with basil and olive oil, or with classic marinara. You really can’t go wrong with these, they are a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet!
Have you ever had zucchini noodles?
Filed under Cooking | Comments (3)
Susy, I can’t say that I have eaten zucchini noodles but they do look interesting. My wife made zucchini boats and lasagna with the garden zucchini. I kind of miss those interesting dishes. She was a way more creative cook than I ever have been. If I acquire a zucchini or two, it mostly goes into soup. Zucchini is one of those vegetables that give the dish texture but kind of takes on the taste of what ever it’s mixed with. I didn’t get any zucchini planted this year so no zucchini dishes in my house this year. The dreaded vine borer is really bad and usually killed the zucchini just when they are starting to produce. I have read about different ways to defeat the flies from laying their eggs at the base of the zucchini plant but haven’t tried any of them. Zucchini is not a great give away harvest. The folks that do take one will not want any more. They are easy to grow so I may start experimenting with defeating the vine borer and pasta noodles next year.
Have a great Zucchini harvesting day.
to Nebraska Dave's comment
Yes, I just discovered this amazing way to eat zucchini this growing season. So simple, delicious, a great way to add more veggies to our diet and a perfect way to use up the dozens of zucchini left in the garden.
to Colleen's comment
I’ve never had Zuchinni noodles however this year I froze some shredded Zuchinni to use in winter soups.
to Jennifer Fisk's comment