Hey everyone! I thought I’d do something a little different today and let a good friend of mine take the reigns and share a delicious (and gluten-free) recipe with you today!
Alright Adrianne – take it away!
Hi all! Adrianne here. I’m super excited to be sharing this recipe with the Baby Doodah community! It’s a perfect light meal for these hot summer days, and you will exponentially increase your chances of getting non-veggie eaters to eat their veggies (this is obviously backed by science). (This post first appeared on my blog adie-cakes, but it was just to good to keep to my own little corner of the blogosphere!)
In my (seemingly) never-ending quest to be the poster child for health and wellness (or, more realistically, offset those crazy days), I’m always on the lookout for interesting healthy meals.
Enter: vegetables masquerading as pasta.
Now I know some lend themselves better to the task (like spaghetti squash, an obvious choice as the name would suggest), but I like to make things difficult. Zucchini? Without a mandolin? Why not?
While cutting zucchini into thin strips may be an annoyingly tedious and time consuming process, it was absolutely, totally worth it. As someone who loves her carby carbs, believe me when I tell you that you won’t even miss the pasta.
Now, don’t go in expecting the zucchini to taste like pasta, because that would be delusional. But, it makes for a pretty decent substitute, as a veggie with a relatively low flavor profile.
I used my zucchini pasta as a sub in my previously-posted pasta with sautéed leeks and mint (link to come later if you don’t feel like searching, but I can’t figure out how to get a link in when posting from the good ol’ iPad), which made for a very Springy green dinner.
So. Gather thee thy patience and a good sharp knife, and a few zucchini (duh), and make some pasta without the guilt!
Zucchini “pasta” (1-2 zucchini per person, depending on size (of the zucchini, not the person))
Cut off the ends of your zucchini. Slice it lengthwise to about 1cm thick (aka thin – you’d be crazy to think I used a ruler). Slice each piece into matchsticks. Bring a pot of shallow water to a simmer, and simmer the zucchini for about 4-5 minutes. The zucchini should be cooked, but not soft and mushy like it can get (think al dente). Strain out water and toss zucchini with whatever sauce you’re using. I threw it into the pan with my leeks and sautéed for a couple minutes, for reference.
Enjoy!
I’m linking this yummy recipe up with Peas and Crayons and What I Ate Wednesday and Weekend Wind Down.
