Chef notes
I was very anti-zoodle until I started making this recipe, which has become a weekly staple in my house paired with simple roasted salmon. This dish takes less than 30 minutes to make, and everyone in my family enjoys it — including my three-year-old — despite the fact that half the noodles are actually zucchini. It has all the feels of a hearty bowl of pasta, but with more nutrition.
Technique tip: Zucchini noodles will get soggy if they’re overcooked, so make sure the pan isn’t too hot (medium) and you don’t cook them too long. 3 to 5 minutes is plenty.
Swap option: You can swap pine nuts for any nut or seed. I love walnuts, pumpkin seeds and Brazil nuts as alternatives.
Special equipment: You may use a vegetable spiralizer, but you don't need one.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces gluten-free spaghetti noodles
- 3 medium zucchinis (1 roughly chopped and 2 spiralized)
- 2 whole garlic clove, plus 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
1.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
2.Meanwhile, make the pesto. In a blender, combine the zucchini, whole garlic clove, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, lemon juice, basil leaves and pine nuts. Blend until smooth, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3.In a large skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
4.Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir for 1 minute, or until fragrant but not brown.
5.Add the spiralized zucchini. Toss the mixture with tongs until the zucchini noodles start to cook but don’t fall apart, 3 to 5 minutes.
6.Add the cooked spaghetti and the zucchini pesto, and stir to combine.
Excerpted from "Foodwise." Copyright © 2023, Mia Rigden. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
