I've spent the past year coming up with creative ways to eat pasta-like dishes which don't contain any wheat or pasta. We tried spaghetti squash at my moms house last year. It exploded in the microwave and shot all over the kitchen. This was hysterically funny, as squash flew everywhere including all over the dogs head, but I wanted to try and avoid catastrophes. Plus I was looking for something that was more like a spaghetti noodle.
Lucky for me, Don bought me a fancy (and extremely sharp) mandoline a while ago, so I took it out of its ninja-like case and discovered I can slice zucchini in long julienne strips. The trick is to also not slice any fingers off. This has proved to be the most challenging part for me.
The zucchini noodles have a firm texture, mild flavor, and taste great with a tomato-based pasta sauce topped with a Parmesan cheese blend. We like these noodles so much we don't even miss pasta.
Zucchini Noodles
1 medium sized zucchini (per person)
salt and pepper
butter/olive oil
Directions:
Cut the ends of each end of the zucchini. Slice the zucchini into long, thin, julienne strips. Season with salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes on a plate. The salt will draw some of the water out of the zucchini. Drain the water. Pat the zucchini dry with a paper towel.
Heat a large saute pan on medium-high. Add a bit of butter/olive oil to the pan. Saute the zucchini for just a few minutes (2-3 minutes). It doesn't take long to cook.
Top noodles with your favorite pasta sauce and cheese.
Mandoline Slicer
This is the mandoline I have. You can buy it here for about $50.
We tried the zucchini choice instead of pasta last week. Used our regular doctored up jar spaghetti sauce and it was delicious. Wish I had thought of this sooner.
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