Zucchini “noodles” are about the best substitute for pasta I’ve found.  I really like them a lot, and I’m not generally a fan of zucchini.  I first saw them on Nom Nom Paleo‘s blog.

First things first:  You’re going to need a Julienne peeler like this:

I spent a whopping $3.99 on mine at a kitchen supply store.  I’ve been using it for about 6 months, and it’s holding up great.

 

Grab some zucchini.  I use about 6 for our family of 4, and almost always have some left over.  Zoodles keep really well, so go ahead and make enough so you have some for lunch tomorrow!

Rinse your zucchini and chop off the ends.  Also, go ahead and fill a large pot with water and set it on the stove on med-hi heat.  It’ll take a while to reach a boil.

Grab your Julienne peeler and place the side with the sharp “teeth” on the zucchini, and drag it down the length.  Voila!  You’re making zoodles!!!

You’ll need to rotate the zucchini as you go, but eventually you’ll end up with something that looks like this:

Take these odd bits, bag ’em, and throw ’em in the fridge for another meal.  When you’re ready to cook them, just chop them up to whatever size you like, toss them in a hot pan with some coconut oil or melted ghee and saute them.  I always like to sprinkle on a little oregano, some sea salt and ground black pepper.

OK, back to our zoodles!  Once you’ve got a lovely pile of zucchini strips, and a pot full of boiling water, it’s time to get cooking!  Go ahead and drop the zucchini strips into the hot water.  Gently stir them with a large spoon to make sure they’re all submerged.

Let them simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  I like mine to still be a little crunchy, so you can cook them up to 5 minutes if you want them softer.  Don’t go much beyond that.  Nobody likes a soggy zoodle!

    Pour them out into a large colander.  Be careful, because the whole ball of zoodles can dump out at once, and splash boiling water all over you.  I’m not saying that was what happened to me the last time I made them…. I’m just offering a little friendly advice.

  Drain them really well.  You may even want to turn them out on a clean dish towel to help absorb the moisture.

Your zucchini noodles are all ready to be topped with whatever you’d like:

A sprinkling of garlic, salt and pepper

   Lemon Garlic Shrimp (recipe coming soon!),

hamburger or sausage with marinara sauce

The next post will be a meal or two using the zucchini noodles, including how to make a really quick marinara sauce!

Zucchini noodles are pretty versatile, so experiment with them!  You use these for just about anything you’d use noodles.   They’re even good cold, so you can make a non-pasta salad!  Let us know what you try!