it’s been crazy warm here in salt lake city, so we’ve been cooking up some of our favorite cool summer dishes for the last couple weeks. one of my favorite quick meals is spaghetti – it’s ready in no time, and requires very little effort (are you seeing a theme in my cooking yet?). only problem is, i always feel like i ate way too much whenever i have pasta. it does not meet the cool, light summer meal quota by any means. so this time around, i decided to try making zucchini pasta, and hallelujah was it good!
the bulk of the recipes i found online required zapping the zucchini for a couple minutes in the microwave, but we don’t microwave any of our food. in fact, we don’t even own a microwave! i briefly debated frying or baking, when it dawned on me that they would only require a few minutes of steaming to be cooked to perfection. i think it’s fair to say that this is almost as easy as just cooking regular pasta, but you get the benefit of no starchy carbs and an extra serving of veggies for the day!
there isn’t really a formal recipe for this – but here’s a quick breakdown:
purchase 2-3 small zucchini’s per person. using either a mandolin or a julienne tool (i recommend the latter), slice your zucchini into thin strips. lightly season with salt. heat a pot of water on the stove, and once boiling, steam the zucchini noodles in a basket for 3-5 minutes. check them often to get to your desired consistency. we liked them to retain some of their crunch, so we went a little shorter on time. the key here is serving them immediately. they cool off quickly, so don’t even bother starting to steam them till your sauce is prepared and just about ready to be served. enjoy!
