C’mon baby, let’s spiralize! This craze is sweeping the nation like doing the Twist in the early ’60s. Folks are using fancy spiralizers, or a gadget called a Vegetti, or a mandoline to make “noodles” from vegetables. We like creating these nutritious noodles as a great way to put a dent in that huge pile of zucchini that inevitably accumulates in August. They’re also delicious and less filling than pasta.
As the seasons change, you can spiralize different vegetables or a combination of vegetables: summer squash, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, and winter squash. Cook them in one of our recommended sauces, or boil the “noodles” in water until just tender, drain, and top with a sauce.
Vegetable noodles can be the center of the plate or a side dish, and they’re another way of slipping vegetables into the kids.
Serves 4 as a main dish; 6 to 8 as a side dish
Time: 35 minutes
3 medium zucchini and/or yellow squash (2 to 3 pounds)
½ teaspoon salt
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons butter (or use 2 tablespoons olive oil)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup packed chopped fresh basil
Splash of white wine (optional)
½ cup grated cheese (sharp cheddar, fontina, Gorgonzola, or your favorite)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
Spiralize the zucchini: Make long strands using a spiral vegetable slicer or a mandoline. While prepping the sauce ingredients and cooking the sauce, dry the zucchini noodles (summer squash is full of water, and would otherwise release a lot of liquid into the sauce). Lay out a clean dish towel and cover it with three layers of paper towels. Spread the spiralized zucchini on the towels and sprinkle with the salt. Put two layers of paper towels on top and press down every once in a while as the zucchini drains water into the towels. After about 20 minutes, roll up the dishtowel like a jelly roll and twist the water out over the sink. The “zoodles” are now ready to add to the sauce.
Make the summer sauce: In a large skillet on medium-high heat, sauté the onions in olive oil and butter for a couple of minutes until softened. Add the garlic and stir briefly before adding the tomatoes, basil, wine (if using), grated cheese, and black pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until saucy and bubbling.
Add the zucchini noodles and cook them submerged in the sauce until just tender but still firm, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Serve right away, topped with grated Parmesan.
Cook the vegetable noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain, and top with one of the following, or your favorite sauce:
• Brown Butter Sauce with Sage (see here)
• Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (see here)
• Grandma Anne’s Pasta with Navy Beans without the pasta